Control based on geo-dependent conditions

ABSTRACT

A network device capable of performing rule-based actions dependent on geolocation-based conditions or realtime conditions from an external source. The network device can obtain its geolocation, obtain a rule based on a condition, query sources for and/or calculate updated statuses of the condition based on the geolocation, and perform actions based on the updated status of the condition, the geolocation, and the rule. The network device is capable of safely shutting down when voltage supplied to the network device falls outside of and acceptable range.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/024,702, filed on Jul. 15, 2014 and entitled “CONTROLBASED ON GEO-DEPENDENT CONDITIONS,” which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to network addressable devices generallyand more specifically to network addressable interface devices.

SUMMARY

A network device capable of performing rule-based actions dependent ongeolocation-based conditions. The network device can obtain itsgeolocation, obtain a rule based on a condition, query sources forand/or calculate updated statuses of the condition based on thegeolocation, and perform actions based on the updated status of thecondition, the geolocation, and the rule.

A network device is further capable of safely shutting down when voltagesupplied to the network device falls outside of an acceptable range.

This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features ofthe claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolationto determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject mattershould be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entirespecification of this patent, any or all drawings, and each claim.

The foregoing, together with other features and embodiments, will becomemore apparent upon referring to the following specification, claims, andaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Illustrative embodiments of the present invention are described indetail below with reference to the following drawing figures:

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example of a network environment, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process forregistering one or more network devices, in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an example of a network environment, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an example of a network environment, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of an example of a network environment, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of an example of a front view of a networkdevice, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of an example of a side view of a networkdevice, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an example of a block diagram of a network device, inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of a local area network including anetwork device that includes an appliance, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 10 is an example of a block diagram of a network device includingan interface device attached to an appliance, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating performing rule-based actionsbased on a geolocation-dependent condition according to one embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating various techniques forcontrolling a network device based on conditions according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a network device communicatingwith the cloud according to one embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a technique for performingrandomized time-based actions according to one embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a technique for performingoffset time-based actions according to one embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a technique for calculating anoffset amount according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, specificdetails are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding ofembodiments of the invention. However, it will be apparent that variousembodiments may be practiced without these specific details. The figuresand description are not intended to be restrictive.

The ensuing description provides exemplary embodiments only, and is notintended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of thedisclosure. Rather, the ensuing description of the exemplary embodimentswill provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description forimplementing an exemplary embodiment. It should be understood thatvarious changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elementswithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as setforth in the appended claims.

Specific details are given in the following description to provide athorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will beunderstood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments maybe practiced without these specific details. For example, circuits,systems, networks, processes, and other components may be shown ascomponents in block diagram form in order not to obscure the embodimentsin unnecessary detail. In other instances, well-known circuits,processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques may be shown withoutunnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring the embodiments.

Also, it is noted that individual embodiments may be described as aprocess which is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flowdiagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchartmay describe the operations as a sequential process, many of theoperations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition,the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process is terminatedwhen its operations are completed, but could have additional steps notincluded in a figure. A process may correspond to a method, a function,a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process correspondsto a function, its termination can correspond to a return of thefunction to the calling function or the main function.

The term “machine-readable storage medium” or “computer-readable storagemedium” includes, but is not limited to, portable or non-portablestorage devices, optical storage devices, and various other mediumscapable of storing, containing, or carrying instruction(s) and/or data.A machine-readable storage medium or computer-readable storage mediummay include a non-transitory medium in which data can be stored and thatdoes not include carrier waves and/or transitory electronic signalspropagating wirelessly or over wired connections. Examples of anon-transitory medium may include, but are not limited to, a magneticdisk or tape, optical storage media such as compact disk (CD) or digitalversatile disk (DVD), flash memory, memory or memory devices. Acomputer-program product may include code and/or machine-executableinstructions that may represent a procedure, a function, a subprogram, aprogram, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a software package, a class,or any combination of instructions, data structures, or programstatements. A code segment may be coupled to another code segment or ahardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information, data,arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments,parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via anysuitable means including memory sharing, message passing, token passing,network transmission, etc.

Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software,firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or anycombination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middlewareor microcode, the program code or code segments to perform the necessarytasks (e.g., a computer-program product) may be stored in amachine-readable medium. A processor(s) may perform the necessary tasks.

Systems depicted in some of the figures may be provided in variousconfigurations. In some embodiments, the systems may be configured as adistributed system where one or more components of the system aredistributed across one or more networks in a cloud computing system.

A network may be set up to provide an access device user with access tovarious devices connected to the network. For example, a network mayinclude one or more network devices that provide a user with the abilityto remotely configure or control the network devices themselves or oneor more electronic devices (e.g., appliances) connected to the networkdevices. The electronic devices may be located within an environment ora venue that can support the network. An environment can include, forexample, a home, an office, a business, an automobile, a park, or thelike. A network may include one or more gateways that allow clientdevices (e.g., network devices, access devices, or the like) to accessthe network by providing wired connections and/or wireless connectionsusing radio frequency channels in one or more frequency bands. The oneor more gateways may also provide the client devices with access to oneor more external networks, such as a cloud network, the Internet, and/orother wide area networks.

A local area network, such as a user's home local area network, caninclude multiple network devices that provide various functionalities.Network devices may be accessed and controlled using an access deviceand/or one or more network gateways. One or more gateways in the localarea network may be designated as a primary gateway that provides thelocal area network with access to an external network. The local areanetwork can also extend outside of the user's home and may includenetwork devices located outside of the user's home. For instance, thelocal area network can include network devices such as exterior motionsensors, exterior lighting (e.g., porch lights, walkway lights, securitylights, or the like), garage door openers, sprinkler systems, or othernetwork devices that are exterior to the user's home. It is desirablefor a user to be able to access the network devices while located withinthe local area network and also while located remotely from the localarea network. For example, a user may access the network devices usingan access device within the local area network or remotely from thelocal area network. As explained herein, techniques are provided thatenable rule-based actions dependent upon the status of certainconditions, such as internet-accessible conditions orgeolocation-specific conditions. These techniques allow a network deviceto perform various actions based on data derived from external sourcesor based on specific locations.

In some embodiments, a user may create an account with login informationthat is used to authenticate the user and allow access to the networkdevices. For example, once an account is created, a user may enter thelogin information in order to access a network device in a logicalnetwork.

In some embodiments, an accountless authentication process may beperformed so that the user can access one or more network devices withina logical network without having to enter network device logincredentials each time access is requested. While located locally withinthe local area network, an access device may be authenticated based onthe access device's authentication with the logical network. Forexample, if the access device has authorized access to the logicalnetwork (e.g., a WiFi network provided by a gateway), the networkdevices paired with that logical network may allow the access device toconnect to them without requiring a login. Accordingly, only users ofaccess devices that have authorization to access the logical network areauthorized to access network devices within the logical network, andthese users are authorized without having to provide login credentialsfor the network devices.

An accountless authentication process may also be performed when theuser is remote so that the user can access network devices within thelogical network, using an access device, without having to enter networkdevice login credentials. While remote, the access device may access thenetwork devices in the local area network using an external network,such as a cloud network, the Internet, or the like. One or more gatewaysmay provide the network devices and/or access device connected to thelocal area network with access to the external network. To allowaccountless authentication, a cloud network server may provide a networkID and/or one or more keys to a network device and/or to the accessdevice (e.g., running an application, program, or the like). In somecases, a unique key may be generated for the network device and aseparate unique key may be generated for the access device. The keys maybe specifically encrypted with unique information identifiable only tothe network device and the access device. The network device and theaccess device may be authenticated using the network ID and/or eachdevice's corresponding key each time the network device or access deviceattempts to access the cloud network server.

In some embodiments, a home local area network may include a singlegateway, such as a router. A network device within the local areanetwork may pair with or connect to the gateway and may obtaincredentials from the gateway. For example, when the network device ispowered on, a list of gateways that are detected by the network devicemay be displayed on an access device (e.g., via an application, program,or the like installed on and executed by the access device). In thisexample, only the single gateway is included in the home local areanetwork (e.g., any other displayed gateways may be part of other localarea networks). In some embodiments, only the single gateway may bedisplayed (e.g., when only the single gateway is detected by the networkdevice). A user may select the single gateway as the gateway with whichthe network device is to pair and may enter login information foraccessing the gateway. The login information may be the same informationthat was originally set up for accessing the gateway (e.g., a networkuser name and password, a network security key, or any other appropriatelogin information). The access device may send the login information tothe network device and the network device may use the login informationto pair with the gateway. The network device may then obtain thecredentials from the gateway. The credentials may include a service setidentification (SSID) of the home local area network, a media accesscontrol (MAC) address of the gateway, and/or the like. The networkdevice may transmit the credentials to a server of a wide area network,such as a cloud network server. In some embodiments, the network devicemay also send to the server information relating to the network device(e.g., MAC address, serial number, or the like) and/or informationrelating to the access device (e.g., MAC address, serial number,application unique identifier, or the like).

The cloud network server may register the gateway as a logical networkand may assign the first logical network a network identifier (ID). Thecloud network server may further generate a set of security keys, whichmay include one or more security keys. For example, the server maygenerate a unique key for the network device and a separate unique keyfor the access device. The server may associate the network device andthe access device with the logical network by storing the network ID andthe set of security keys in a record or profile. The cloud networkserver may then transmit the network ID and the set of security keys tothe network device. The network device may store the network ID and itsunique security key. The network device may also send the network ID andthe access device's unique security key to the access device. In someembodiments, the server may transmit the network ID and the accessdevice's security key directly to the access device. The network deviceand the access device may then communicate with the cloud server usingthe network ID and the unique key generated for each device.Accordingly, the access device may perform accountless authentication toallow the user to remotely access the network device via the cloudnetwork without logging in each time access is requested. Also, thenetwork device can communicate with the server regarding the logicalnetwork.

In some embodiments, a local area network may include multiple gateways(e.g., a router and a range extender) and multiple network devices. Forexample, a local area network may include a first gateway paired with afirst network device, and a second gateway paired with a second networkdevice. In the event credentials for each gateway are used to create alogical network, a server (e.g., a cloud network server) may registerthe first gateway as a first logical network and may register the secondgateway as a second logical network. The server may generate a firstnetwork ID and a first set of security keys for the first logicalnetwork. The first set of security keys may include a unique securitykey for the first network device and a unique security key for theaccess device for use in accessing the first network device on the firstlogical network. The server may register the second gateway as thesecond logical network due to differences in the credentials between thefirst gateway and second gateway. The server may assign the secondgateway a second network ID and may generate a second set of securitykeys. For example, the server may generate a unique security key for thesecond network device and may generate a unique security key for theaccess device for use in accessing the second network device on thesecond logical network. The server may associate the first networkdevice and the access device with the first logical network by storingthe first network ID and the first set of security keys in a firstrecord or profile. The server may also associate the second networkdevice and the access device with the second logical network by storingthe second network ID and the second set of security keys in a record orprofile. The server may then transmit the first network ID and the firstset of security keys to the first network device, and may transmit thesecond network ID and the second set of security keys to the secondnetwork device. The two network devices may store the respective networkID and set of security keys of the gateway with which each networkdevice is connected. Each network device may send the respective networkID and the access device's unique security key to the access device. Thenetwork devices and the access device may then communicate with thecloud server using the respective network ID and the unique keygenerated for each device.

Accordingly, when multiple gateways are included in the home local areanetwork, multiple logical networks associated with different networkidentifiers may be generated for the local area network. When the accessdevice is located within range of both gateways in the local areanetwork, there is no problem accessing both network devices due to theability of the access device to perform local discovery techniques(e.g., universal plug and play (UPnP)). However, when the user islocated remotely from the local area network, the access device may onlybe associated with one logical network at a time, which prevents theaccess device from accessing network devices of other logical networkswithin the local area network.

Accordingly, techniques and systems are described herein for performingrule-based actions based on geolocation-dependent conditions. Alsodescribed are techniques and systems for performing rule-based actionsbased on externally-obtainable conditions, such as conditions determinedfrom internet queries or queries to an external server.

In certain embodiments, a network device can perform an action dependentupon the functionality of the network device. Examples of actionsinclude completing a circuit, turning on or off a device (e.g., a light,a space heater, any other device), sensing a variable (e.g., temperatureor pressure), opening a door, generating a sound, transmitting a signal,or any other suitable action. A user can interact with the networkdevice, specifically with regards to the network device's actions, usingan access device. In some embodiments, a user can interact with thenetwork device directly. Interactions with the network device, whetherdirectly or remotely, can include directing the network device toperform an action (e.g., turn on a light), receiving information relatedto an action (e.g., receive a current temperature or the on/off statusof a switch), programming a network device to operate based on a definedrule (e.g., turn light on at 6:00 PM), or any other suitableinteraction.

In some embodiments, the network device can be programmed to perform acertain action based on a condition (e.g., turn light on at sunset, turnon heater when outside temperature drops below 19° C., or make a soundwhen a sports team scores). A condition can be any variable capable ofhaving a first status and an updated status. Examples of conditionsinclude, but are not limited to, solar times (e.g., sunrise times, wherethe first status is a first sunrise time and an updated status is asecond sunrise time); stock prices (e.g., a first status may be a priceat one point in time and an updated status may be a price at asubsequent point in time); temperatures; pressures; traffic patterns;road conditions; or any other suitable variable.

In some cases, the conditions can be location dependent (e.g., sunriseand sunset times). In some cases, the conditions can be predictable(e.g., sunrise and sunset times at a particular location, or traveltimes to work given expected traffic) or non-predictable (e.g., when asports team scores or when a colleague tweets your name).

In some embodiments, times, including time-dependent events and internalclock times, can be adjusted for daylight savings time and time zonechanges. Daylight savings time changes and time zone changes can belocation-dependent and can be updated automatically based on a sensedlocation.

In some embodiments, a network device can obtain status informationabout a condition from an external source (e.g., external to the networkdevice itself), such as from another network device, an access device, aserver on the cloud, a server on the internet, or another suitablesource. By way of example, a network device can obtain sports scoreupdates and updated tweets from the internet (e.g., by data being pushedto the device or by performing a query on the internet). In someembodiments, the network device can additionally obtain geolocationinformation, such as geolocation information about the network deviceitself or about a desired location (e.g., a highway between a user'shome and office). The network device can use the geolocation informationto obtain the status of location-specific variables from an externalsource.

Geolocation information can be set by a user in software, such as by auser providing a street address, a city name, a zip code,longitude/latitude coordinates, or other manual inputs. Geolocationinformation can be detected using GPS, IP addresses, wife surveys, orany other suitable methods. In some embodiments, a network device canobtain, and use as its own, the geolocation of another network device,such as a device on a local network.

In some embodiments, the network device has an internal realtime clock.In other embodiments, the network device has an internal relative clockthat is synchronized with an external clock, such as a clock of anothernetwork device, a clock of the access device, a clock of a GPSsatellite, a clock of a server (e.g., a server in the cloud), a networktime protocol (NTP) service, or a clock of another suitable source.

In some embodiments, predictable conditions, such as sunrise/sunsettimes, can be determined based on a stored algorithm. In an example, anetwork device can use a stored equation to calculated the estimatedsunrise/sunset times based on the current day and the current location.In some embodiments, predictable conditions can be predicted based onexternal data. For example, the travel time to from home to work can bepredicted based one or more of traffic conditions, road conditions,weather conditions, and other conditions.

In some embodiments, a network device can retrieve a large number ofstatus updates for a condition and store it in memory. For example, anetwork device can retrieve a year's worth of sunrise/sunset times andstore them in memory. Instead of calculating the next sunrise/sunsettime and/or retrieving the next sunrise/sunset time from an externalsource, the network device can retrieve the next sunrise/sunset timefrom its own memory.

In an embodiment, the rule can include an offset to provide forperformance of the action at an earlier or later time. For example, arule based on turning on lights at sunset can include a user-set offsetso that the lights turn on before the official sunset time. For example,a user can have a rule that turns lights on 30 minutes before sunset,such as if the user's house tends to get dark before the actual sunsettime. The offset can be set by a user (e.g., typed in or selected from alist).

In some embodiments, the offset can be obtained from a database ofcollected or calculated offsets. For example, a specific neighborhoodmay get dark (e.g., apparent sunset) 20 minutes before actual sunsettime. Therefore, in order to have an action take place at an apparentsunset time (e.g., when the home gets dark), a 20 minute offset can besubtracted from the actual sunset time in order to calculate theapparent sunset time. A network device can determine, based ongeolocation, that the network device is in that particular neighborhood,then the network device can access a database containing offset timesfor that neighborhood and know to offset the sunset time by theappropriate amount (e.g., 20 minutes) in order to have the lights turnon at the apparent sunset time. Other offset times can be used. In someembodiments, the offset times located in the database can be based onoffset times used by other devices sharing a similar or nearbygeolocation. In some embodiments, the offset times can be based onoffset times previously used to program another network device on thesame logical network.

In some embodiments, the offset can be calculated based on geolocationinformation and topographical information. Optionally, the offset can becalculated based also on altitude (e.g., relative altitude from abarometric sensor+known altitude of ground level for a particulargeolocation). Calculations can be performed by the network device, anexternal server, or another device. The calculated offset can be basedon a comparison of the geolocation (e.g., of the network device),topographical maps of the area near the geolocation, and the approximatepath of the sun in the sky as related to the topographical features nearthe geolocation. The topographical maps may or may not include manmadestructures, such as buildings and bridges. Comparison of geolocation,topography, and sun path can lead to an approximate calculation of whenthe geolocation will be in darkness, due either to actual sunset or tothe sun setting behind a building, ridge, or other topographicalfeatures. If the geolocation is determined to be in darkness beforeactual sunset time, the difference in time can be used as an offset. Inan embodiment, a user attempting to program a rule to turn on a networkdevice at sunset can be presented with a recommended offset based on theuser's geolocation, nearby topography, and the sun's path as it sets.The user can accept, alter, or reject the offset. In another embodiment,the user can select for the network device to turn on at “apparentsunset,” rather than “actual sunset,” in which case the calculatedoffset can be used without further input from the user.

In an embodiment, the rule can include a randomized offset to provide anelement of randomization to the performance of the action. For example,a rule based on turning on and off lights at sunset and sunrise,respectively, can include a randomized offset so that the lights turn onand off at varying times each day, giving the location a sense of beinginhabited (e.g., as if the lights were being turned on and off by ahuman). The randomized offset can be based on a random or pseudo-randomnumber generator.

In some embodiments, rules can further depend on other variables, suchas whether one or more network devices (e.g., access devices) are withina certain geolocation perimeter (e.g., if a user's phone is detectedwithin the house). Rules can further depend on additional conditions.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a local area network 100. The localarea network 100 includes network device 102, network device 104, andnetwork device 106. In some embodiments, any of the network devices 102,104, 106 may include an Internet of Things (IoT) device. As used herein,an IoT device is a device that includes sensing and/or controlfunctionality as well as a WiFi™ transceiver radio or interface, aBluetooth™ transceiver radio or interface, a Zigbee™ transceiver radioor interface, an Ultra-Wideband (UWB) transceiver radio or interface, aWiFi-Direct transceiver radio or interface, a Bluetooth™ Low Energy(BLE) transceiver radio or interface, an infrared (IR) transceiver,and/or any other wireless network transceiver radio or interface thatallows the IoT device to communicate with a wide area network and withone or more other devices. In some embodiments, an IoT device does notinclude a cellular network transceiver radio or interface, and thus maynot be configured to directly communicate with a cellular network. Insome embodiments, an IoT device may include a cellular transceiverradio, and may be configured to communicate with a cellular networkusing the cellular network transceiver radio. The network devices 102,104, 106, as IoT devices or other devices, may include home automationnetwork devices that allow a user to access, control, and/or configurevarious home appliances located within the user's home (e.g., atelevision, radio, light, fan, humidifier, sensor, microwave, iron,and/or the like), or outside of the user's home (e.g., exterior motionsensors, exterior lighting, garage door openers, sprinkler systems, orthe like). For example, network device 102 may include a home automationswitch that may be coupled with a home appliance. In some embodiments,network devices 102, 104, 106 may be used in other environments, such asa business, a school, an establishment, a park, or any place that cansupport the local area network 100 to enable communication with networkdevices 102, 104, 106. For example, a network device can allow a user toaccess, control, and/or configure devices, such as office-relateddevices (e.g., copy machine, printer, fax machine, or the like), audioand/or video related devices (e.g., a receiver, a speaker, a projector,a DVD player, a television, or the like), media-playback devices (e.g.,a compact disc player, a CD player, or the like), computing devices(e.g., a home computer, a laptop computer, a tablet, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a computing device, a wearable device, or the like),lighting devices (e.g., a lamp, recessed lighting, or the like), devicesassociated with a security system, devices associated with an alarmsystem, devices that can be operated in an automobile (e.g., radiodevices, navigation devices), and/or the like.

A user may communicate with the network devices 102, 104, 106 using anaccess device 108. The access device 108 may include anyhuman-to-machine interface with network connection capability thatallows access to a network. For example, the access device 108 mayinclude a stand-alone interface (e.g., a cellular telephone, asmartphone, a home computer, a laptop computer, a tablet, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a computing device, a wearable device such as asmart watch, a wall panel, a keypad, or the like), an interface that isbuilt into an appliance or other device e.g., a television, arefrigerator, a security system, a game console, a browser, or thelike), a speech or gesture interface (e.g., a Kinect™ sensor, aWiimote™, or the like), an IoT device interface (e.g., an Internetenabled device such as a wall switch, a control interface, or othersuitable interface), or the like. In some embodiments, the access device108 may include a cellular or other broadband network transceiver radioor interface, and may be configured to communicate with a cellular orother broadband network using the cellular or broadband networktransceiver radio. In some embodiments, the access device 108 may notinclude a cellular network transceiver radio or interface. While only asingle access device 108 is shown in FIG. 1, one of ordinary skill inthe art will appreciate that multiple access devices may communicatewith the network devices 102, 104, 106. The user may interact with thenetwork devices 102, 104, or 106 using an application, a web browser, aproprietary program, or any other program executed and operated by theaccess device 108. In some embodiments, the access device 108 maycommunicate directly with the network devices 102, 104, 106 (e.g.,communication signal 116). For example, the access device 108 maycommunicate directly with network device 102, 104, 106 using Zigbee™signals, Bluetooth™ signals, WiFi™ signals, infrared (IR) signals, UWBsignals, WiFi-Direct signals, BLE signals, sound frequency signals, orthe like. In some embodiments, the access device 108 may communicatewith the network devices 102, 104, 106 via the gateways 110, 112 (e.g.,communication signal 118) and/or the cloud network 114 (e.g.,communication signal 120).

The local area network 100 may include a wireless network, a wirednetwork, or a combination of a wired and wireless network. A wirelessnetwork may include any wireless interface or combination of wirelessinterfaces (e.g., Zigbee™, Bluetooth™, WiFi™, IR, UWB, WiFi-Direct, BLE,cellular, Long-Term Evolution (LTE), WiMax™, or the like). A wirednetwork may include any wired interface (e.g., fiber, ethernet,powerline ethernet, ethernet over coaxial cable, digital signal line(DSL), or the like). The wired and/or wireless networks may beimplemented using various routers, access points, bridges, gateways, orthe like, to connect devices in the local area network 100. For example,the local area network may include gateway 110 and gateway 112. Gateway110 or 112 can provide communication capabilities to network devices102, 104, 106 and/or access device 108 via radio signals in order toprovide communication, location, and/or other services to the devices.The gateway 110 is directly connected to the external network 114 andmay provide other gateways and devices in the local area network withaccess to the external network 114. The gateway 110 may be designated asa primary gateway. While two gateways 110 and 112 are shown in FIG. 1,one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that any number ofgateways may be present within the local area network 100.

The network access provided by gateway 110 and gateway 112 may be of anytype of network familiar to those skilled in the art that can supportdata communications using any of a variety of commercially-availableprotocols. For example, gateways 110, 112 may provide wirelesscommunication capabilities for the local area network 100 usingparticular communications protocols, such as WiFi™ (e.g., IEEE 802.11family standards, or other wireless communication technologies, or anycombination thereof). Using the communications protocol(s), the gateways110, 112 may provide radio frequencies on which wireless enabled devicesin the local area network 100 can communicate. A gateway may also bereferred to as a base station, an access point, Node B, Evolved Node B(eNodeB), access point base station, a Femtocell, home base station,home Node B, home eNodeB, or the like.

The gateways 110, 112 may include a router, a modem, a range extendingdevice, and/or any other device that provides network access among oneor more computing devices and/or external networks. For example, gateway110 may include a router or access point, and gateway 112 may include arange extending device. Examples of range extending devices may includea wireless range extender, a wireless repeater, or the like.

A router gateway may include access point and router functionality, andmay further include an Ethernet switch and/or a modem. For example, arouter gateway may receive and forward data packets among differentnetworks. When a data packet is received, the router gateway may readidentification information (e.g., a media access control (MAC) address)in the packet to determine the intended destination for the packet. Therouter gateway may then access information in a routing table or routingpolicy, and may direct the packet to the next network or device in thetransmission path of the packet. The data packet may be forwarded fromone gateway to another through the computer networks until the packet isreceived at the intended destination.

A range extending gateway may be used to improve signal range andstrength within a local area network. The range extending gateway mayreceive an existing signal from a router gateway or other gateway andmay rebroadcast the signal to create an additional logical network. Forexample, a range extending gateway may extend the network coverage ofthe router gateway when two or more devices on the local area networkneed to be connected with one another, but the distance between one ofthe devices and the router gateway is too far for a connection to beestablished using the resources from the router gateway. As a result,devices outside of the coverage area of the router gateway may be ableto connect through the repeated network provided by the range extendinggateway. The router gateway and range extending gateway may exchangeinformation about destination addresses using a dynamic routingprotocol.

The gateways 110 and 112 may also provide the access device 108 and thenetwork devices 102, 104, 106 with access to one or more externalnetworks, such as the cloud network 114, the Internet, and/or other widearea networks. In some embodiments, the network devices 102, 104, 106may connect directly to the cloud network 114, for example, usingbroadband network access such as a cellular network. The cloud network114 may include a cloud infrastructure system that provides cloudservices. In certain embodiments, services provided by the cloud network114 may include a host of services that are made available to users ofthe cloud infrastructure system on demand, such as registration andaccess control of network devices 102, 104, 106. Services provided bythe cloud infrastructure system can dynamically scale to meet the needsof its users. The cloud network 114 may comprise one or more computers,servers, and/or systems. In some embodiments, the computers, servers,and/or systems that make up the cloud network 114 are different from theuser's own on-premises computers, servers, and/or systems. For example,the cloud network 114 may host an application, and a user may, via acommunication network such as the Internet, on demand, order and use theapplication.

In some embodiments, the cloud network 114 may host a Network AddressTranslation (NAT) Traversal application in order to establish a secureconnection between the cloud network 114 and one or more of the networkdevices 102, 104, 106. For example, a separate secure TransmissionControl Protocol (TCP) connection may be established by each networkdevice 102, 104, 106 for communicating between each network device 102,104, 106 and the cloud network 114. In some embodiments, each secureconnection may be kept open for an indefinite period of time so that thecloud network 114 can initiate communications with each respectivenetwork device 102, 104, or 106 at any time. In some cases, other typesof communications between the cloud network 114 and the network devices102, 104, 106 and/or the access device 108 may be supported using othertypes of communication protocols, such as a Hypertext Transfer Protocol(HTTP) protocol, a Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) protocol,or the like. In some embodiments, communications initiated by the cloudnetwork 114 may be conducted over the TCP connection, and communicationsinitiated by a network device may be conducted over a HTTP or HTTPSconnection. In certain embodiments, the cloud network 114 may include asuite of applications, middleware, and database service offerings thatare delivered to a customer in a self-service, subscription-based,elastically scalable, reliable, highly available, and secure manner.

It should be appreciated that the local area network 100 may have othercomponents than those depicted. Further, the embodiment shown in thefigure is only one example of a local area network that may incorporatean embodiment of the invention. In some other embodiments, local areanetwork 100 may have more or fewer components than shown in the figure,may combine two or more components, or may have a differentconfiguration or arrangement of components.

Upon being powered on or reset, the network devices 102, 104, 106 may beregistered with the cloud network 114 and associated with a logicalnetwork within the local area network 100. FIG. 2 illustrates an exampleof a process 200 for registering one or more network devices, such asthe network devices 102, 104, 106 illustrated in FIG. 1. When multiplenetwork devices 102, 104, 106 and gateways 110, 112 are included withina local area network, the network devices and/or gateways may beinstalled at different times, resulting in the techniques described withrespect to FIG. 2 possibly occurring for each network device and/orgateway at different points in time. For example, a user may installnetwork device 102 at a first point in time on a first floor of theuser's house. Gateway 110 may also be located on the first floor,resulting in the network device 102 pairing with gateway 110. The usermay later install gateway 112 and network device 106 on a second floorof the user's home, resulting in the network device 106 pairing withgateway 112.

At 202, a network device may detect one or more gateways upon beingpowered on or reset. In some embodiments, a provisioning process mayoccur when the network device is powered on or reset and detected by anaccess device (e.g., access device 108). During the provisioningprocess, the access device may directly communicate with the networkdevice. In some embodiments, direct communication between networkdevices (e.g., network devices 102, 104, 106) and access device (e.g.,access device 108) may occur using various communications protocols,such as Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), Bluetooth®, Zigbee®,Ultra-Wideband (UWB), WiFi-Direct, WiFi, Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE),sound frequencies, and/or the like.

The provisioning process may include pairing the network device with agateway and registering the gateway, network device, and access devicewith a server, such as a server located within the cloud network 114.For example, upon being powered on or reset to factory settings, thenetwork device may send or broadcast identification information to oneor more access devices. The identification information may be sentduring a discovery process. For example, the identification informationmay be sent in response to a discovery request from an access device. Insome cases, the identification information may include a name of thenetwork device.

An application, program, or the like that is installed on and executedby the access device may receive the identification information from thenetwork device. When the application on the access device is launched bya user, the access device may display the identification information forselection by the user. Once the network device identificationinformation is selected, the access device may send a signal to thenetwork device indicating that it has been selected. The network devicemay then send to the access device a list of gateways that are detectedby the network device. The access device may receive and display thelist of gateways. In some embodiments, the list of gateways includesmultiple gateways (e.g., gateways 110 and 112) that are located withinthe local area network. The user may select the gateway that the userwishes for the network device to pair. For example, the gateway thatprovides the best signal strength for the network device may beselected. The access device may then prompt the user to enter logininformation that is required for accessing the network signals providedby the selected gateway. For example, the login information may be thesame information that was originally set up to access the gatewaynetwork signals (e.g., when the gateway was initially installed). Onceentered, the access device may send the login information to the networkdevice. The network device may use the login information to pair withthe selected gateway. As one example, network device 102 and networkdevice 104 may be paired with gateway 110, and network device 106 may bepaired with gateway 112.

Once paired with a gateway, the network device may be registered with acloud network (e.g., cloud network 114). For example, the access device(e.g., via the application, program, or the like) may instruct thenetwork device to register with the cloud network upon receivingconfirmation from the network device that it has been successfullypaired with a gateway. At 204, the network device may obtain credentialsfrom the gateway as part of the registration process. For example,network device 102 may obtain credentials from gateway 110. At a same orlater point in time, network devices 104 and 106 may obtain credentialsfrom gateways 110 and 112, respectively. In some embodiments, thecredentials may include a SSID of the local area network and a MACaddress of the gateway. An SSID received from two gateways (e.g.,gateways 110, 112) may be the same due to the gateways both being withinthe same local area network. In some cases, the SSID of the two gatewaysmay be different. The MAC address of each of the gateways may be uniqueto each gateway. As a result of each gateway having a unique MACaddress, the credentials obtained from a gateway may be unique to thatparticular gateway. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciatethat other credentials may be obtained from a gateway, such as anInternet Protocol address, or the like.

The network device may then send the gateway credentials to the cloudnetwork at 206. For example, the network devices 102, 104, 106 may sendcredentials for the gateway with which each is paired to the serverlocated within the cloud network 114. For example, network device 102may transmit the credentials obtained from gateway 110 to the server,and network device 106 may transmit the credentials obtained fromgateway 112 to the server. In some embodiments, the network device mayalso send information relating to the network device (e.g., MAC address,serial number, make, model number, firmware version, and/or an interfacemodule identifier, or the like) to the server, and/or informationrelating to the access device (e.g., MAC address, serial number,application unique identifier, or the like) to the server. In someembodiments, the communication of the credentials, the network deviceinformation, and/or the access device information sent from the networkdevice to the cloud network server may be in a Hypertext TransferProtocol (HTTP) format, a Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS)format, a secure Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) format, or thelike. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that othercommunication formats may be used to communicate between the networkdevice and the cloud network server.

Once the credentials, network device information, and/or access deviceinformation are received by the server, the server may register eachgateway as a logical network within the local area network and maygenerate a network ID for each logical network. For example, the servermay register the gateway 110 as a first logical network. During theregistration process, the server may generate a first network ID foridentifying the first logical network. As noted above, one of ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate that any number of gateways may bepresent within the local area network, and thus that any number oflogical networks may be registered for the local area network. Theserver may further generate a first set of security keys forauthenticating the network device and the access device. For example,the server may generate a unique key for the network device 102 and aseparate unique key for the access device 108.

In some embodiments, as previously described, network device 104 mayalso be paired with gateway 110 at the same or a later point in time asthe network device 102. During registration of the network device 104,the server may determine that the access device 108 has already beenregistered with another network device (e.g., network device 102) thatis associated with the same logical network of gateway 110. In suchembodiments, the server may retrieve the first network ID that was usedin registering the first logical network. The server may also generate anew unique security key for the network device 104, and may retrieve theunique key that was previously generated for the access device 108 whenregistering the gateway 110 as the first logical network.

The gateway 112 may also be registered by the server as a second logicalnetwork with a second network ID. A second set of security keys may begenerated for the network device 106 and the access device 108. Forexample, the server may generate a unique security key for the networkdevice 106 and a unique security key for the access device 108 as itrelates to the second logical network. In some embodiments, the gatewaymay 112 be installed at a later point in time after the gateway 110 isinstalled, and thus may be registered as the second logical network atthe later point in time.

A record or profile may then be created for associating each network IDwith the credentials of a corresponding gateway, the correspondingnetwork device(s), and the access device. For example, the server of thecloud network 114 may associate the first network ID with thecredentials of gateway 110. Similarly, the server may associate thesecond network ID with the credentials of gateway 112. In someembodiments, the server performs the association by generating andstoring a record including the network ID, the set of security keys, thegateway credentials, the network devices associated with the network ID(e.g., MAC address or serial number of a network device), the accessdevices associated with the network ID (e.g., MAC address, serialnumber, application unique identifier, or the like), and/or any otherinformation relevant to the network devices and/or gateways. Forexample, the server may store the first network ID and the first set ofsecurity keys in a first record at a first memory space (e.g., in Flash,DRAM, a database, or the like) along with the SSID and MAC address forgateway 110 and an identifier of the network devices 102 and/or 104. Theserver may also store the second network ID and the second set ofsecurity keys in a second record at a second memory space along with theSSID and MAC address for gateway 112 and an identifier of the networkdevice 106. In some embodiments, an example of a network deviceidentifier may include a MAC address of the network device, a serialnumber of the network device, or any other unique identifier.

Each of the first and second network IDs may include a unique number oralphanumeric string generated sequentially or randomly. For example, thefirst time a network device and an associated gateway are registered onthe cloud network 114, the unique network ID for the logical network ofthe gateway may start with 7000000. Each subsequent logical network thatis created may be a sequential increment of the initial network ID(e.g., 7000001, 7000002, 7000003, etc.). As another example, the networkID may be generated by a random or pseudo-random number generator. Oneof ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other techniques forgenerating a unique ID may be used. The technique used to generate thenetwork IDs may be dependent on a type of database that is included inthe cloud network 114. For example, different databases may havedifferent proprietary mechanisms for creating a unique identifier.

The set of keys generated for each logical network may be generatedusing database specific technique. For example, a MySQL technique may beused to generate the sets of keys. Each key may include a universallyunique identifier (UUID) or a globally unique identifier (GUID). Asdescribed above, for each logical network, the server may generate aunique key for a network device and a separate unique key for an accessdevice.

At 208, the network device may receive the network ID and the set ofsecurity keys. For example, once the server has generated a record orprofile associating the network device 102 with the first logicalnetwork, the server may transmit the first network ID and the first setof security keys to the network device 102. The network device 102 maystore the first network ID and one or more keys of the first set ofkeys. For example, the network device 102 may store the unique securitykey that was created by the server for the network device 102.

As noted previously, the network devices 102, 104, 106 and gateways 110,112 may be installed at different times. For example, in someembodiments, network device 104 may be installed at a point in timeafter the first logical network is created based on the pairing betweengateway 110 and network device 102. In such embodiments, upon beingpowered on, the network device 104 may pair with gateway 110, obtaincredentials from gateway 110, and transmit the credentials to the serverin the cloud network 114 using similar techniques as those describedabove. The server may associate the network device 104 with thepreviously generated first network ID. As described above, the servermay also generate a new unique security key for the network device 104,and may retrieve the unique key that was previously generated for theaccess device 108 when registering the first logical network. Thenetwork device 104 may then receive and store the first network ID andthe security keys from the server.

At 210, the network device may send the network ID and the set ofsecurity keys to the access device. For example, the network device 102may send to the access device 108 the first network ID and the uniquesecurity key generated for the access device 108. The network device 102and the access device 108 may then communicate with the cloud networkserver using the first network ID and each device's unique key. In someembodiments, the network device and the access device may generate asignature using their respective security key. The signature is sent tothe cloud network server along with a communication from the networkdevice or access device. The cloud network server may process thesignature in order to authenticate each device, as described below. Thenetwork device and access device may use different techniques togenerate a signature.

A network device may generate a signature using its uniquely generatedsecurity key. For example, the signature may be expressed as:Authorization=MacAddress“:”Signature“:”ExpirationTime. The Authorizationterm may be an attribute, and the MacAddress, Signature, andExpirationTime terms may include values for the Authorization attribute.In particular, the MacAddress value may include the MAC address of thenetwork device, which may include a unique alphanumeric or numericstring. The network device may retrieve its MAC address from memory andplace it in the MacAddress field. The Signature value may be expressedas: Signature=Base64(HMAC-SHA1(PrivateKey, StringToSign)). The Signaturevalue may include an alphanumeric or numeric string. HMAC-SHA1 is anopen source technique that includes a Hash-based Message AuthenticationCode (HMAC) using a SHA1 hash function. The HMAC-SHA1 technique uses thevalues PrivateKey and StringToSign as inputs. The PrivateKey inputincludes the unique security key that was generated by the server forthe network device. The StringToSign input may be expressed asStringToSign=MacAddress+“\n”+SerialNumber+“\n”+ExpirationTime.Accordingly, the StringToSign input is generated by appending a serialnumber of the network device and an expiration time to the networkdevice's MAC address. The ExpirationTime term may indicate the period oftime for which the signature is valid. In some embodiments, theExpirationTime term may include a current time at which the signature isgenerated plus period of time for which the signature is valid. In oneexample, the ExpirationTime term may be expressed asExpirationTime=Number of seconds since Jan. 1, 1970.

The network device may place the signature in a data packet fortransmission with a communication signal to the cloud network server.The network device may also place the network ID in the data packet. Thesignature and the network ID, if included, may be used by the cloudnetwork server to verify that the network device is associated with thelogical network. In some embodiments, a signature is provided with eachcommunication sent from the network device to the server. Once thesignature is received by the server, the server generates a signatureusing the same expression as that used by the network device. Forexample, the server may retrieve the network device's key and otherrelevant information from storage and generate the signature using thekey and the other information using the expression described above. Theserver then verifies whether the signatures match. Upon determining thatthe signatures match, the server authenticates the network device'scommunication.

An access device may also generate a signature using its uniquelygenerated security key. For example, the access device signature may beexpressed as: Authorization=SDU UniqueId“:”Signature“:”ExpirationTime.The Authorization term may be an attribute, and the SDU UniqueId,Signature, and ExpirationTime terms may include values for theAuthorization attribute. The SDU UniqueId term may include a uniquephone identifier. The SDU UniqueId value may depend on the type ofaccess device that is used and the type of values that may be accessedand/or generated by the type of access device. In some cases, one typeof access device may not allow an application to access a uniqueidentifier of the access device (e.g., a serial number, UUID, or thelike). In such cases, the SDU UniqueId value may include a valuegenerated by an application or program installed on and executed on theaccess device that is used to access the network device. The value maybe unique to the application or program that generated the value. Inother cases, another type of access device may allow an application toaccess a unique identifier of the access device. In such cases, the SDUUniqueId value may include a value that is unique to the access deviceitself, such as a serial number, UUID, or the like. In this example, theaccess device may retrieve the unique value from storage within theaccess device. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate thatother unique identifiers may be used to uniquely identify the accessdevice. The Signature value may be expressed as:Signature=Base64(HMAC-SHA1(PrivateKey, StringToSign)). Using thisexpression, the input to the HMAC-SHA1 technique may include aPrivateKey term and a StringToSign term. The PrivateKey input includesthe unique security key that was generated by the server for the accessdevice with regard to a particular logical network. The StringToSigninput may be expressed as StringToSign=UniqueId+“\n”+“\n”+ExpirationTime. The StringToSign value is different from the StringToSign valuegenerated by network device in that no serial number is included.Accordingly, the StringToSign input is generated by appending anexpiration time to the access device's unique identifier. TheExpirationTime term may indicate the period of time for which thesignature is valid, similar to that above for the signature generated bythe network device.

The access device may place the signature in a data packet and maytransmit the data packet to the cloud network server with acommunication signal. The network device may also place the network IDin the data packet. The signature and the network ID, if included, maybe used by the cloud network server to verify that the access device isassociated with the logical network and authorized to communicate withone or more network devices associated with the logical network. In someembodiments, a signature is provided with each communication sent fromthe access device to the server. The cloud server may receive thesignature and may generate a signature using the same expression as thatused by the access device. For example, the server may retrieve theaccess device's key and other relevant information from storage andgenerate the signature using the key and the other information using theexpression described above. The server then verifies whether thesignatures match. Upon determining that the signatures match, the serverauthenticates the access device and allows it to communicate with one ormore of the network devices associated with logical network.

Once the provisioning process is completed, the access device 108 mayaccess the network device 102 locally via the gateway 110 (e.g.,communication signal 118) or remotely via the cloud network 114 (e.g.,communication signal 120). In some embodiments, the communicationbetween the access device 108 and the cloud network 114 may be a HTTP orHTTPS communication. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciatethat other communication mechanisms may be used to communicate betweenthe access device 108 and the cloud network 114.

The network 100 may enable a user to monitor and/or control operation ofthe devices 102 and 104. For example, a user may monitor and/or controloperation of devices by interacting with a visual interface of thegateway 110 (i.e., a web page for gateway 110) and/or a visual interfacerendered on a display of an access device, such as access device 108. Insome embodiments, an application may be run on the access device. Theapplication may cause the access device to present a graphical interfacethat includes a visual interface for each device accessible on thenetwork 100.

A network device may generate and/or provide a “status” of the networkdevice. In certain embodiments, the status or state of a network devicecan be indicated on a visual interface on the access device, for examplewithin the tile with text and/or graphically. The status of the networkdevice can change based on time (e.g., a period, an interval, or othertime schedule). The status of a network device may be any piece ofinformation pertinent to that particular network device. The status of anetwork device may be any changeable variable of that particular networkdevice. For example, the status of a network device may include a stateof the—network device itself (e.g., on or off) or how the network deviceis situated within the network with respect to the other network andother network devices throughout the network. For example, the status ofa network device may refer to the network device's proximity to anothernetwork device and/or its ability to communicate with another networkdevice because of the relative signal strength between the two networkdevices. In certain embodiments, the status can include a value or someother information indicating a unit of measure for a setting or anattribute related to operation of a device connected to the networkdevice. The setting or the attribute can be adjustable within a range ofvalues. For example, the device connected to the network device can be alight bulb and the status can include a value corresponding tobrightness (e.g., a percentage of total brightness) emitted by the lightbulb when the light bulb is powered-on. In another example, the devicecan be a motion sensor and the status can include a value correspondingto sensitivity of the sensor in a range of values between 0 to 100 whenthe sensor is powered on. In yet another example, the device can be afan and the status can include a value corresponding to a speed of thefan on a scale of 0 to 100 when the fan is powered-on.

As described above, upon being powered on or reset, the—network devices102 and/or 104 may be registered with the cloud network 114 andassociated with a logical network within the local area network 100.Similarly, upon being powered or switched off or otherwise beingdisconnected from the network 100, the status of the—network device 102would be known and stored by a cache (not shown) associated with thenetwork 100. For example, cloud network 114 may include storage (e.g.cache) that stores the status of the network devices within each localarea network 100 it is connected to and/or provides access to. Inanother example, the gateway 110 may include storage that stores thestatus of the network devices within each local area network it isconnected to and/or provides access to. More specifically, the statusstored in the cache may include a status table which indicates thecurrent status of each network device (as of its last communication witheach network device). A status table may include all statuses ofeach-network device, or individual storage tables for each local areanetwork or other subset of its network devices/networks. In oneembodiment, a change in status may prompt the—network device to push itschange in in status to the cloud network 114 for storage or updating ofthe cloud's stored status table. In another embodiment, cloud network114 and/or gateway 110 may continuously (or periodically) communicatewith each-network device to check to see if its status has changed.

In some embodiments, a network device (e.g. network device 102 and/or104) may, upon connecting to the local area network 100, check thestatus of the network devices on the network 100. In other embodiments,one-network device may check the status of one or more of the othernetwork devices on the network 100. The network device may seek to checkthe status of another network device or access device for variousreasons, including to display such status(es) to a user on a display orotherwise, to check whether that network device belongs to the samenetwork, to synchronize or coordinate any scheduled executions, toupdate an attribute based on adjustment received among others. Forexample, a network device or user may desire to check various statuseson a connected device, such as power level, timestamped activity history(e.g. temperature for a thermostat, motion for a motion detector, etc.),how long it has been active/turned on, attributes for operation of theconnected device (e.g., a brightness of a lamp, a speed of a fan, or asensitivity of a sensor, etc.), among many others.

In some embodiments, a device, such as the access device 108 shown inFIG. 1 or the gateway 110, connected to the network 100 can communicatean updated status of a network device, such as the network devices 102and/or 104. The updated status can be communicated via the network 100and can include an adjustment that affects a status of the networkdevice. The adjustment can include an amount of change to one or moreattributes, one or more settings, or a combination thereof related tooperation of the network device connected to the network 100. The accessdevice 108 or the gateway 110 can present a graphical interface that canreceive input corresponding to an adjustment to a status of a device. Insome embodiments, the updated status of the network device communicatedto the network 100 can be received by a network device to which theupdated status applies, or can be received by the gateway 110, the cloudnetwork 110, or any other device in communication with the network. Ifthe device cannot directly receive the updated status, it can alsoreceive the updated status from the cloud network 114, the gateway 110,or the other devices in the network 100. In some embodiments, thenetwork device can communicate its updated status to the network 100,which can indicate whether the status has been updated. The updatedstatus can be received by the access device or any other device in thenetwork 100. In some embodiments where the access device is not locatedwithin the network 100, the access device may not immediately receivethe updated status. The updated status can be stored by the cloudnetwork 114 or the gateway 110 for communication to the access device.The status of the network device can indicate whether an adjustment wasmade based on an adjustment in a setting or an attribute transmitted bythe access device. Alternatively, or additionally, the access device canreceive, from any other network device connected to the network 100, astatus update indicating whether the adjustment was in fact made at anetwork device.

A network device seeking to check the status of any other device on thenetwork 100 may communicate with the cloud network 114, to which alldevices on the network 100 are connected either directly or indirectly.Since the cloud network 114 and/or the gateway 110 can store an updatedtable/list of the statuses of each of the network devices 102 and 104within the requesting network's local area network, the cloud network114 and/or gateway 110 may communicate such status data to the networkdevices 102 and 104 and the access device. For example, if-networkdevices 102 and 104 were to each turn on and communicate their statusesto cloud network 114, cloud network 114 may analyze the status ofnetwork devices 102 and 104 and communicate to-network devices 102 and104 that they are each connected to the same local area network 100.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a network 300, according to embodimentsof the present invention. Specifically, the network 300 can be awireless local area network enabling an access device to communicatewith network devices to control adjustment of attributes related tooperation of the network devices. Network 300 includes network device302, network device 304, network device 306, and network device 308. Thenetwork 300 also includes access device 108. In other words, the network300 may be substantially similar to the network 100 except that accessdevice 108 has been turned on near the network 300, to which it isassociated, or has entered an area to which the network 300 can reach.

When access device 108 can enter the network 300 as shown in FIG. 3,access device 108 may be authenticated based on the access device'sauthentication with the logical network or may otherwise commencecommunication with cloud network 114. Access device 108 may alsocommunicate notification of its presence or other information directlyto other network devices 302-308 within network 300, as shown in FIG. 3by communication paths 330. As noted, such communication may includevarious communications protocols, such as Universal Plug and Play(UPnP), Bluetooth®, Zigbee®, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), WiFi-Direct, WiFi,Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE), sound frequencies, and/or the like. Forexample, access device 108 may communicate to all other devices innetwork 300, including network device 302, network device 304, networkdevice 306, and network device 308, information/data regarding itsstatus. Such status data may include the fact that it is present andturned on, or other status data/information. At any time that networkdevices 302, 304, 306 and 308 recognize that access device 108 ispresent at network 300, the network devices may communicate back toaccess device 108. For example, the network devices may send anacknowledgement (e.g., ACK signal) back to access device 108 to confirmthat they received the status data sent by access device 108. Thenetwork devices may also send their own status data to access device108.

While network devices 302-308 and access device 108 may each receivecommunication from other network devices around the network 300,including the status of each of those network devices, network devices302-308 and/or access device 108 may be continuously scanning network300 (including, for example, running discovery algorithms) to determinewhether any devices within the network have moved, turned on/off orotherwise added to or subtracted from the network 300, or have otherwisechanged statuses.

Since network devices 302-308 and access device 108 may each receivecommunication from other devices around network 300, including thestatus of each of those devices, each network device within network 300may know the status of each other network device in the network 300. Forexample, access device 108 or devices 302-308 may not be required tocommunicate with cloud network 114 in order to obtain one or more ofsuch statuses. Since cloud network 114 is an external network and may beremote from network 300, communication between network devices withinthe network 300 and cloud 114 may take more time than communicationbetween two devices within network 300. For example, communicationbetween devices within network 300 may take anywhere from 1 millisecondto 100 milliseconds, while communication between a device within network300 and the cloud network 114 may take anywhere from 50 milliseconds to1 second or more). Furthermore, if a network device is retrievinginformation from cloud 114, the request must travel from the networkdevice to cloud network 114, and then the information must travel backfrom cloud network 114 to the network device. This process may doublethe latency caused by retrieving information with cloud 114. Therefore,devices within the network 300 may choose to send and receive/retrievestatuses directly with other devices within the network 300 instead ofcommunicating such information via cloud network 114. When a networkdevice receives status data from another network device on the device'slocal area network 300, it may store that status data so that it mayretrieve and use that status data at a later time.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a network 400, according to embodimentsof the present invention. The local area network 400 may include networkdevice 302, network device 304, network device 306, network device 308,and access device 108. FIG. 4 also illustrates that one or more networkdevices 302-308 and/or access device 108 may include a storage device,such as a cache, for storing data, including data regarding its ownstatus and data regarding statuses received from the other deviceswithin local area network 400. For example, access device 108 may, afterbeing powered up, broadcast/send its status to network device 308 viacommunication 434. Network device 308 may store the status data receivedfrom access device 108 until the next time access device 108 updates itsstatus by sending new/updated status data to network device 308. Cachemay be used for storage within network devices 302-308 and/or accessdevices within the local area network 400 so that each of the devicesmay be able to quickly retrieve the data it needs from storage. Anapplication operating on the access device 108 can access the cache toobtain information to display the visual interface for each networkdevice 302-308 registered within the network 400. Although a cachingdevice may be used to store such data within the network and/or accessdevices within the local area network 400, other types of storage may beused.

The cache can contain a known interface list including interfaceinformation for different, known types of devices. The known list caninclude a record for each network device known by the access device 108to exist on the network 400. When an application is run on the accessdevice 108, the access device 108 can access the known interfaces in thecache to present the display of access device 108. The display canpresent one or more visual interfaces, each corresponding to a networkdevice known to exist on the network 400. Each visual interface can begenerated based on a visual interface module corresponding to eachdevice on the network 400. In an example, the display can include avisual interface (e.g., a module tile) for each device in the network400 having an interface in the known interface list.

The cache can also contain known status information about each networkdevice in the known device list. When the application is run on theaccess device 108, the access device 108 can access the known statusinformation in the cache to present a status display. The access device108 can populate each tile with an indicator representing the respectiveknown status information for each device in the known device list. Thestatus display can include an indicator of one or more attributes, oneor more settings, or a combination thereof related to operation of eachdevice in the network 400. For example, the status display can include aspeed of a fan (e.g., a fan speed of 56 in a range of values between 0and 100) of the network device 302 (e.g., a fan), a value of sensitivityof a sensor (e.g., a value of 34 in a range of values 0-100) for thenetwork device 304 (e.g., a motion sensor), a value of brightness (e.g.,65 percent brightness) for the network device 306 (e.g., a light bulb),and a value of temperature (e.g. a slow cooker). Although shown ashaving a single indicator for an attribute or a setting related tooperation of a network device, the status display can present aplurality of indicators corresponding to different attributes and/orsettings related to operation of a network device.

In some embodiments, the cache can include other information about anetwork device. The other information can indicate a device's firmwareversion, last known firmware update status, connectivity to cloudstatus, registration status (e.g., whether the network device has a keyor not), and other such information. The cache can include informationthat could be used for troubleshooting. In embodiments described below,the access device 108 can access status information from another otherdevice on the network 400 and can use that information to update its owncache, update the status display, and/or pass the information to thecloud network 114 and/or the gateway 110 for trouble shooting and/orstorage.

Even though each network device may know and store (e.g. in cache) thestate of each other network device within local area network 400, anetwork device may not know when another network device changes status(e.g. turns/powers off). However, network devices and/or access deviceswithin local area network 400 may broadcast/send any updates in itsstatus to other devices on the network. For example, if network device302 changes status, it may send status data to the other networkdevices, such as network devices 304, 306 and 308 and to access device108. However, network device 302 may not know which devices to updatesince the other devices may change statuses periodically (e.g. turnoff).

Therefore, a network or access device may subscribe to another networkor access device within local area network 400. For example, networkdevices 304, 306 and 308 and access device 108 may subscribe to statusdata notifications/updates from network device 302. Such a subscriptionmay be registered for upon initial connection with network device 302when network device 302 first enters local area network 400 or at anyother time after network device 302 has been associated with local areanetwork 400. Subscriptions may be controlled to last indefinitely or mayexpire after a certain predetermined period of time after initialsubscription. However, network devices may re-subscribe to anothernetwork device before or after their previous subscription has expired.

Subscriptions between network device and/or access devices may beregistered, similar to registering a network device upon initialentrance into the local area network, including security registrationsdescribed herein with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2. For example, a networkdevice may send its unique security key, which it may have stored alongwith its network ID after being registered on the network, to a networkdevice to which it wants to subscribe. However, subscriptions may takeon many other forms, including sending a different form ofidentification to a network device to which a network device wants tosubscribe. However, subscriptions may take on many other forms,including sending a different form of identification to a network deviceto which a network device wants to subscribe.

Upon receiving a subscription from another network device or accessdevice, the device being subscribed to may store a list of the devicesthat subscribed to it. For example, network device 302 may store a listof network devices 304, 306 and 308 and access device 108 after thosedevices subscribe to network device 302. Then, when network device 302undergoes a change in status, network device 302 may send that change instatus to only the devices that had previously subscribed to it butwhere the subscription had not yet expired. Furthermore, according tosome embodiments, the subscription list of a network device may beautomatically updated if that device receives notification that anotherdevice has left the range of the local area network, either from thatdevice itself or from a different device. Therefore, the various deviceswithin a given local area network, such as network 400, each containcontinuously updated statuses of each other device on the network andobtain those statuses and updates through direct communication withoutnecessary use of the cloud.

FIG. 5 illustrates an access device 108 that is located remotely fromnetwork 500 (e.g. local area network), according to embodiments of thepresent invention. Local area network 500 includes gateway 110 andnetwork devices 502 and 504 (which may be, for example, the same as anyof network devices 302-308 in FIGS. 3 and 4), as shown in FIG. 5.However, network 500 may also include a variety of other network devicesand one or more access devices directly connected to network 500.Gateway 110 is connected to cloud network 114, and allows networkdevices 502 and 504 to connect to cloud 114, the internet, or otherexternal networks via gateway 110. In some embodiments, the networkdevices 502 and 504 may include home automation devices that allow auser to access, control, and/or configure various home applianceslocated within the user's home, such as a television, radio, light,microwave, iron, and/or the like.

Access device 108 is not directly connected to network 500. Instead,access device 108 is external to network 500 and may connect to cloudnetwork 114 and to network 500 via cloud network 114. As noted, networkdevices 502 and 504 may change status on a periodic basis. In someembodiments, even when external to and not directly connected to network500, an access device may request to check the status of the devices onthe network. When access device 108 seeks to check the status of anydevice on the network, the access device 108 may transmit/send acommunication 536 to the cloud network 114, to which all devices on thenetwork are connected either directly or indirectly via gateway 110.Since the cloud network 114 stores an updated table/list of the statusesof each of the devices within the requesting access device's network,the cloud network 114 may transmit a communication 538 of such statusdata to the access device 108. For example, after network devices 502and 504 are turned on, authenticated and are a part of network 500,network devices 502 and 504 may communicate their statuses to cloudnetwork 114. Furthermore, any time the status of network devices 502 and504 changes, the device that incurred a status change may push/sendinformation (e.g. an indication) of that status change to cloud network114. Cloud network 114 may store, in cache 526 or otherwise, thestatuses (which may be time stamped in metadata or otherwise) of networkdevices 502 and 504. Therefore, when access device 108 requests fromcloud network 114 the statuses of devices on network 500, cloud 114 maysend its most recently stored/updated statuses to access device 108.

To obtain the most updated status data of devices within network 500,cloud 114 may, upon receiving a request for status data related tonetwork devices 502 and 504, transmit/send a communication 532 (e.g.request, query, etc.) for such status data to network devices 502 and504 via gateway 110. Once network devices 502 and 504 receive thisrequest, network devices 502 and 504 may send a communication 534 (e.g.updated status data) to cloud 114 to replace the previouslystored/cached statuses in cache 526. Upon receipt of updated status data534 from network 500, cloud 114 may send a communication 538 of suchstatus data to the access device 108.

However, the process of cloud network 114 requesting updated statusesfrom network devices 502 and 504 within network 500 may cause latencywithin the system. More specifically, the time required for cloudnetwork 114 to request updated statuses from network devices 502 and 504and to in turn receive updated statuses from network devices 502 and 504may be substantially greater than the time required for cloud network114 to send its currently stored statuses (without being updated) fornetwork devices 502 and 504 to access device 108. For example, of thetotal time required for access device 108 to receive updated statusesfrom cloud network 114, 80% or more of that total time may include cloudnetwork 114 requesting updated statuses from network devices 502 and504. On the other hand, of the total time required for access device 108to receive updated statuses from cloud network 114, 20% or more of thattotal time may include the status data being transmitted from cloudnetwork 114 to access device 108. Since a majority of the processrequired for access device 108 to request and receive status data fornetwork devices 502 and 504 is the transmission of data between cloud114 and network devices 502 and 504, the access device 108 and cloudnetwork 114 may maximize efficiency by minimizing the effect of thetransmission of data between cloud 114 and network devices 502 and 504on the whole process/system.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a front view of a network device 600.FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a side view of the network device 600.The network device 600 may include any of the network devices 102, 104,or 106 described herein. In some embodiments, the network device 600 maybe a home automation network device. For example, the network device 600may include a home automation switch that may be coupled with a homeappliance. A user may wirelessly access the network device 600 in orderto access, control, and/or configure various home appliances locatedwithin the user's home. For instance, the user may remotely controlappliances such as a television, radio, light, microwave, iron, spaceheater, wall A/C unit, washer, dryer, fan, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the network device 600 may include a WiFi enabledswitch that connects home appliances and other electronic devices to acompatible 802.11b/g/n/ac WiFi network. The network device 600 may thusallow users to locally or remotely turn devices on or off from anywhere,program customized notifications, and/or change device status. Thenetwork device 600 may further allow a user to create custom schedulesor have devices respond to sunrise or sunset.

The network device 600 includes an power switch 602 that may bedepressed in order to turn the network device 600 on and off. In someembodiments, a light source may be integrated with or located behind thepower switch. For example, a light-emitting diode (LED) may be locatedon a circuit board under the power button 602. The light source may beilluminated when the network device 600 is powered on, and may not beilluminated when the network device 600 is powered off.

The network device 600 further includes a communications signalindicator 604. The signal indicator 604 may indicate whether the networkdevice 600 has access to a communications signal, such as a WiFi signal.For example, the signal indicator 604 may include a light source (e.g.,a LED) that illuminates when the network device 600 is connected to acommunications signal. The light source may depict different colors orother characteristics (e.g., flashing, dimming, or the like) to indicatedifferent levels of signal strength or mode of operation.

The network device 600 includes a restore button 710. The restore button710 may allow a user to reset the network device 600 to factory defaultsettings. For example, upon being depressed, the restore button 710 maycause all software on the device to be reset to the settings that thenetwork device 600 included when purchased from the manufacturer.

The network device 600 further includes a plug 708 and an outlet 606.The plug 708 allows the network device 600 to be plugged into a wallsocket, such as a socket providing 120V, 220V, or the like. In turn, anappliance may be plugged into the outlet 606. Once the network device600 is registered according to the techniques described above, anappliance plugged into the socket 606 may be controlled by a user usingan access device (e.g., access device 108).

FIG. 8 is an example of a block diagram of the network device 600depicting different hardware and/or software components of the networkdevice 600. As described above with respect to FIGS. 6 and 7, thenetwork device 600 includes the outlet 606, the plug 708, the powerbutton 602, the restore button 710, and the communications signalindicator 604. The network device 600 also includes light source 828associated with the power button 602. As previously described, the lightsource 828 may be illuminated when the network device 600 is powered on.

The network device 600 further includes a relay 810. The relay 810 is aswitch that controls whether power is relayed from the plug 708 to theoutlet 606. The relay 810 may be controlled either manually using thepower button 602 or remotely using wireless communication signals. Forexample, when the power button 602 is in an ON position, the relay 810may be closed so that power is relayed from the plug 708 to the outlet606. When the power button 602 is in an OFF position, the relay 810 maybe opened so that current is unable to flow from the plug 708 to theoutlet 606. As another example, an application or program running on anaccess device may transmit a signal that causes the relay 810 to beopened or closed. For instance, an access application may display agraphical interface on the access device that includes a power button.The user may tap or otherwise select the power button, and the accessapplication may send a communication signal (e.g., over a WiFi network)to the network device 600 instructing the network device 600 to open orclose the relay 810.

The network device 600 further includes flash memory 820 and dynamicrandom access memory (DRAM) 822. The flash memory 820 may be used tostore instructions or code relating to an operating system, one or moreapplications, and any firmware. The flash memory 820 may includenonvolatile memory so that any firmware or other program can be canupdated. In the event the network device 600 loses power, informationstored in the flash memory 820 may be retained. The DRAM 822 may storevarious other types of information needed to run the network device 600,such as all runtime instructions or code.

The network device 600 further includes a CPU/Radio 818. The CPU/Radio818 controls the operations of the network device 600. For example, theCPU/Radio 818 may execute various applications or programs stored in theflash memory 820 and/or the dynamic random access memory (DRAM) 822. TheCPU/Radio 818 may also receive input from the various hardware andsoftware components, interpret the input, and perform one or morefunctions in response to the input. As one example, the CPU/Radio 818may determine whether the power button 602 has been pressed, anddetermines whether the relay 810 needs to be opened or closed. TheCPU/Radio 818 may further perform all communications functions in orderto allow the network device 600 to communicate with other networkdevices, one or more gateways, a cloud network, and/or one or moreaccess devices. While the CPU and radio of the network device 600 areshown to be combined in the CPU/Radio 818, one of ordinary skill in theart will appreciate that, in some embodiments, the CPU and radio may beseparately located within the network device 600. For example, CPUcircuitry may be situated at a separate location on a circuit board fromthe location of radio circuitry, the CPU circuitry may be located on adifferent circuit board from the radio circuitry, or the like. Further,the network device 600 may include multiple radios that are configuredto communicate using one or more communication protocols, such as anycombination of a WiFi™ transceiver radio, a Bluetooth™ transceiverradio, a Zigbee™ transceiver radio, a UWB transceiver radio, aWiFi-Direct transceiver radio, a BLE transceiver radio, and/or any otherwireless network transceiver radio or interface. In some embodiments,the network device 600 does not include a cellular network transceiverradio or interface, and thus may not be configured to directlycommunicate with a cellular network. In some embodiments, the networkdevice 600 may include a cellular network transceiver radio, and may beconfigured to communicate with a cellular network using the cellularnetwork transceiver radio.

The network device 600 may communicate with other devices and/ornetworks via antenna 824. For example, antenna 824 may include a 2.4 GHzantenna, a 5 GHz antenna, or the like, that can transmit and receiveWiFi communications signals. The network device 600 may include othertypes of antennas that can communicate Bluetooth® signals, Zigbee®signals, Ultra-Wideband (UWB) signals, WiFi-Direct signals, BLE signals,and/or the like. In some embodiments, the antenna 824 may be configuredto communicate different types of signals, such as the WiFi signals,Bluetooth® signals, Zigbee® signals, UWB signals, WiFi-Direct signals,BLE signals, and/or the like. In some embodiments, the network device600 may include multiple antennas for communicating the different typesof communication signals. As one example, the network device 600 mayinclude both a 2.4 GHz antenna and a 5 GHz antenna.

The network device 600 further includes a driver 816, a switching powersupply 812, and a voltage regulator 814. The driver 816 may includeinstructions or code that can be used to translate control signals orcommands received from applications running on the DRAM 822 to commandsthat the various hardware components in the network device 600 canunderstand. In some embodiments, the driver 816 may include an ambientapplication running on the DRAM 822. The switching power supply 812 maybe used to transfer power from the outlet in which the plug 708 isconnected to the various loads of the network device 600 (e.g.,CPU/Radio 818). The switching power supply 812 may efficiently convertthe voltage and current characteristics of the electrical power to alevel that is appropriate for the components of the network device 600.For example, the switching power supply 812 may perform AC-DCconversion. In some embodiments, the switching power supply 812 may beused to control the power that is relayed from the plug 708 to theoutlet 606. The voltage regulator 814 may be used to convert the voltageoutput from the switching power supply 812 to a lower voltage usable bythe CPU/Radio 818. For example, the voltage regulator 814 may regulatethe DC voltage from 5V to 3.3V.

In some embodiments, the network device 600 further includes asupervisory circuit 830. The supervisory circuit 830 can monitor voltageoutput from the voltage regulator 814. When the supervisory circuit 830senses a voltage below a safe threshold, for example a voltage at orbelow 2.95 Vdc, the supervisory circuit 830 can hold the CPU/Radio 818in reset, for example by setting a reset line to low. However, when thesupervisory circuit 830 senses a sufficient voltage, for example avoltage above 2.95 Vdc, the supervisory circuit 830 can provide a highon the reset line, allowing the CPU/Radio 818 to operate as normal. Thesupervisory circuit 830 can therefore protect the network device 600from behaving erratically due to problems in the supply voltage. In someembodiments, the supervisory circuit 830 can be implemented within theCPU/Radio 818. In some embodiments, the supervisory circuit 830 canbegin an orderly shutdown and/or startup when the voltage it sensesapproaches or crosses a threshold voltage. In some embodiments, thesupervisory circuit 830 can have a lower threshold voltage and an upperthreshold voltage, wherein the CPU/Radio 818 is allowed to operate, bythe supervisory circuit 830, when the supplied voltage is in the ragebetween the lower threshold voltage and upper threshold voltage.

In various embodiments, functions may be stored as one or morecomputer-program products, such as instructions or code, in anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium, such as the flash memory820 and/or the DRAM 822. The network device 600 can also comprisesoftware elements (e.g., located within the memory), including, forexample, an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries,and/or other code, such as one or more application programs, which maycomprise computer programs implementing the functions provided byvarious embodiments, and/or may be designed to implement methods and/orconfigure systems, as described herein. Merely by way of example, one ormore procedures described with respect to the processes discussed above,for example as described with respect to FIG. 2, may be implemented ascode and/or instructions executable by a computer (and/or a processorwithin a computer); in an aspect, then, such code and/or instructionscan be used to configure and/or adapt a computer (or other device) toperform one or more operations in accordance with the described methods.Such functions or code may include code to perform the steps describedabove with respect to FIG. 2. The memory, such as the flash memory 820and/or the DRAM 822, may be a processor-readable memory and/or acomputer-readable memory that stores software code (programming code,instructions, etc.) configured to cause a processor(s) within theCPU/Radio 818 to perform the functions described. In other embodiments,one or more of the functions described may be performed in hardware.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be stored on anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium, such as the flash memory820 and/or the DRAM 822. In some cases, the storage medium might beincorporated within a computer system, such as the CPU/Radio 818. Inother embodiments, the storage medium might be separate from a computersystem (e.g., a removable medium, such as a compact disc), and/orprovided in an installation package, such that the storage medium can beused to program, configure and/or adapt a computer with theinstructions/code stored thereon. These instructions might take the formof executable code, which is executable by the network device 600 and/ormight take the form of source and/or installable code, which, uponcompilation and/or installation on the network device 600 (e.g., usingcompilers, installation programs, compression/decompression utilities,etc.) then takes the form of executable code.

It should be appreciated that the network device 600 may have othercomponents than those depicted in FIGS. 6-8. Further, the embodimentshown in the figures are only one example of a network device that mayincorporate an embodiment of the invention. In some other embodiments,network device 600 may have more or fewer components than shown in thefigure, may combine two or more components, or may have a differentconfiguration or arrangement of components.

FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of a local area network 900 includinga network device 902 that includes an appliance 950. The network device902 can comprise an interface device 904 and the appliance 950 connectedby an appliance interface 908. The appliance interface 908 can include adata connection 918 and a power connection 916. The data connection 918can be a serial connection (e.g., RS-232, USB, or other), or any othersuitable data connection. The interface device 904 can be fully poweredby the appliance 902 through the power connection 916, or can have aseparate source of power.

The appliance 950 can be any suitable electric device, such as a crockpot, space heater, an iron, a washing machine, a dishwasher, a lamp, aradio, a computer, an amplifier, or another electrical device.Additional examples of suitable electrical devices include electricaldevices incorporated into or with non-electrical devices, such as anactuator system in an electrically-actuated deadbolt, a sensing systemin a seat cushion, or other suitable electrical device incorporated intoor with a non-electrical device. The appliance 950 can be adapted tooperate with the interface device 904. The appliance 950 can be anyfinite state machine. The appliance 950 can, but need not, know or storeone or more states related to the appliance. For example, the appliance950 may know or store data related to whether the appliance 950 isturned on, how long the appliance has been on (or off), among otherstatus data.

The interface device 904 can be positioned within the housing of theappliance 950, or can be attached externally to the appliance 950. Theinterface device 904 can be removable from the appliance 950, or can bepermanently installed in or on the appliance 950.

The interface device 904 can be connected to the local area network 900through a network interface. The interface device 904 can be connectedby a wired or wireless connection (e.g., WiFi, Zigbee, or othersdescribed herein or well known). In some embodiments, the interfacedevice 904 can be connected directly to the cloud network 114 through acellular internet connection (e.g., EDGE, LTE, or others).

The interface device 904 can communicate with another network device, anaccess device 108, or another client device through the networkinterface 906. The interface device 904 can transmit a statusinformation signal 910 with status information to the access device 108,and the access device 108 can transmit a network device control signal912 to the interface device 904. The status information signal 910 andthe network device control signal 912 can be transmitted between theinterface device 904 and the access device 108 using atelecommunications network (e.g., a cellular network, or other suitablebroadband network), using a local area network 900 (e.g., through agateway 110), or using the cloud network 114, although such a signal maypass through an intermediary device or network to do so.

The interface device 904 can interpret the network device control signal912 and perform actions based on the contents of the network devicecontrol signal 912. The network device control signal 912 can includecommands that can be performed by the interface device 904 itself. Thenetwork device control signal 912 can also include commands that are tobe performed by the appliance 950. Commands that are to be performed bythe appliance 950 can include commands like turn on or off, set adesired temperature (e.g., heat up or cool down to 215° F. or any othertemperature), or other suitable commands depending on the particularappliance. The interface device 904 can interpret the network devicecontrol signal 912 and can send out a command 922, through the dataconnection 918 of the appliance interface 908, based on the networkdevice control signal 912. The appliance 950 can then perform thecommand indicated in the network device control signal 912.

The interface device 904 can also transmit commands to the appliance 950that are not based on a network device control signal received from theaccess device 108, but are rather based on programming in the interfacedevice 904. Examples of such commands can include commands to update acommunication rate, commands to check a state of the appliance 950,commands to set or get a clock time of the appliance 950, or any othersuitable commands.

The interface device 904 can receive, through the data connection 918 ofthe appliance interface 908, a response (e.g., response 920) to anycommand from the appliance 950. In some examples, the response 920 caninclude an indication that the command 922 was received. In someexamples, the response may include only an indication that a command isreceived (e.g., an ACK). In some examples, the response 920 can includeinformation for some value on the appliance 950, such as an “on/off”state, a serial number, a product identification, a manufactureridentification, a temperature, a time since live, a setting, or anyother value retrievable from the appliance 950. The interface device 904can interpret the value and can send information about the value (e.g.,the state of the appliance is “on,” the temperature of the appliance,the time since the appliance first turned on, or other information) asstatus information (e.g. using status information signal 910) to theaccess device 108. Additionally, the interface device 904 can sendstatus information about itself (e.g., time since live, supplied power,signal strength, and others) as status information (e.g. using statusinformation signal 910) to the access device 108.

The interface device 904 can also use responses (e.g., response 920)from the appliance 950 to perform additional functions at the interfacedevice 904, such as error handling. In some cases, when performing theadditional functions, the interface device 904 does not transmit anystatus information 910 to the access device 108 based on thoseparticular responses.

The access device 108 can include one or more display tiles (e.g.,display tile 914) for displaying information and controls correspondingto the network device 102.

In some embodiments, the interface device 904 can transmit a heartbeatcommand (e.g., command 922) over the data connection 918 to theappliance 902 to determine whether the appliance 950 is working properlyand/or in a state of readiness. If the interface device 904 determinesthat the appliance 950 has had some sort of failure (e.g., the appliance950 sends a response 920 indicating a failure or the interface device904 does not receive any response 920), the interface device 904 cantake corrective action (e.g., restarting the appliance 950 or an elementof the appliance 950), can log the event, or can alert the user).

FIG. 10 depicts a block diagram of a network device including aninterface device 904 attached to an appliance 950 according to oneembodiment. The interface device 904 can include connector 1012 thatinteracts with connector 1032 of the appliance 950.

The interface device 904 can include flash memory 1004 and dynamicrandom access memory (DRAM) 1006. The flash memory 1004 may be used tostore instructions or code relating to an operating system, one or moreapplications, and any firmware. The flash memory 1004 can be used tostore a cache. The flash memory 1004 may include nonvolatile memory sothat any firmware or other program can be can updated. In the event theinterface device 904 loses power, information stored in the flash memory1004 may be retained. The DRAM 1006 may store various other types ofinformation needed to run the interface device 904, such as all runtimeinstructions or code. The flash memory 1004 or DRAM 1006 or acombination thereof may include all instructions necessary tocommunicate with an appliance 950, including all instructions necessaryto communicate using the appliance serial protocol disclosed herein.

The interface device 904 further includes a CPU/Radio 1002. TheCPU/Radio 1002 can control the operations of the interface device 904.For example, the CPU/Radio 1002 may execute various applications orprograms stored in the flash memory 1004 and/or the dynamic randomaccess memory (DRAM) 1006. The CPU/Radio 1002 may also receive inputfrom the appliance 950, interpret the input, and perform one or morefunctions in response to the input. The CPU/Radio 1002 may furtherperform all communications functions in order to allow the interfacedevice 904 to communicate with other network devices, one or moregateways, a cloud network, and/or one or more access devices. Theinterface device 904 may communicate with other devices and/or networksvia antenna 1026. For example, antenna 1026 may include a 2.4 GHzantenna that can transmit and receive WiFi communications signals 1028.The antenna 1026 may include other types of antennas that cancommunicate Bluetooth® signals, Zigbee® signals, Ultra-Wideband (UWB)signals, and/or the like. In some embodiments, the interface device 904may include multiple antennas for communicating different types ofcommunication signals.

The CPU/Radio 1002 can include at least one universal asynchronousreceiver/transmitter (UART) 1010. The CPU/Radio 903 can use the UART1010 to send and receive serial communications. The CPU/Radio 903 cansend data through a transmit line 1022 and a receive data through areceive line 1024. The CPU/Radio 903 can send and receive data throughthe transmit line 1022 and receive line 1024 using a serial protocol,such as RS232. The CPU/Radio 1002 can also include an input/output(GPIO) line 1014, a restore line 1016, an LED 1 line 1018, and an LED 2line 1020. The CPU/Radio 1002 can have additional or fewer lines asnecessary. The GPIO line 1014 can be used for any suitable function,such as powering an indicator light on an appliance 950 or accepting aninput from the appliance 950. A signal sent on the restore line 1016 canbe used to restore the CPU/Radio 1002 and/or the interface device 904 tofactory defaults. The LED 1 line 1018 and LED 2 line 1020 can be used topower first and second LEDs that can be used to indicate variousstatuses, such as whether the interface device has a network connectionand whether the interface device is powered on.

The interface device 904 further includes a voltage regulator 1008. Thevoltage regulator 1008 may be used to convert the voltage output fromthe appliance 950 to a voltage usable by the CPU/Radio 1002. Forexample, the voltage regulator 1008 may regulate the DC voltage from 5Vto 3.3V. The voltage regulator 1008 can be supplied with power from apower line 1030.

Each of the interface lines, including the GPIO line 1014, the restoreline 1016, the LED 1 line 1018, the LED 2 line 1020, the transmit line1022, the receive line 1024, the power line 1030, and any additionallines, can be routed through connector 1012. Connector 1012 can be aproprietary or universal connector. Any appliance 950 to which theinterface device 904 is attached through the connector 1012 can have thenecessary hardware to make use of the interface lines, such as toprovide power to the power line 1030 and to provide the first and secondLEDs that are driven by the LED 1 line 1018 and LED 2 line 1020.

In alternate embodiments, some interface lines are not routed throughthe connector 1012. For example, the power line 1030 can be routed to apower supply attached directly to the interface device 904, and the LED1 line 1018 and LED 2 line 1020 can be routed to first and second LEDslocated within the interface device 904.

In various embodiments, functions may be stored as one or moreinstructions or code in memory, such as the flash memory 1004 and/or theDRAM 1006. The interface device 904 can also comprise software elements(e.g., located within the memory), including, for example, an operatingsystem, device drivers, executable libraries, and/or other code, such asone or more application programs, which may comprise computer programsimplementing the functions provided by various embodiments, and/or maybe designed to implement methods and/or configure systems, as describedherein. Merely by way of example, one or more procedures described withrespect to the processes discussed below may be implemented as codeand/or instructions executable by a computer (and/or a processor withina computer); in an aspect, then, such code and/or instructions can beused to configure and/or adapt a device (e.g. a specialty computer) toperform one or more operations in accordance with the described methods.Such functions or code may include code to perform various stepsdescribed below. The memory, such as the flash memory 1004 and/or theDRAM 1006, may be a processor-readable memory and/or a computer-readablememory that stores software code (programming code, instructions, etc.)configured to cause a processor(s) within the CPU/Radio 1002 to performthe functions described. In other embodiments, one or more of thefunctions described may be performed in hardware.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be stored on acomputer-readable storage medium, such as the flash memory 1004 and/orthe DRAM 1006. In some cases, the storage medium might be incorporatedwithin a computer system, such as the CPU/Radio 1002. In otherembodiments, the storage medium might be separate from a computer system(e.g., a removable medium, such as a compact disc), and/or provided inan installation package, such that the storage medium can be used toprogram, configure and/or adapt a device (e.g. a computer) with theinstructions/code stored thereon. These instructions might take the formof executable code, which is executable by the interface device 904and/or might take the form of source and/or installable code, which,upon compilation and/or installation on the interface device 904 (e.g.,using any of a variety of compilers, installation programs,compression/decompression utilities, etc.) then takes the form ofexecutable code.

Substantial variations may be made in accordance with specificrequirements. For example, customized hardware might also be used,and/or particular elements might be implemented in hardware, software(including portable software, such as applets, etc.), or both. Further,connection to other access or computing devices such as networkinput/output devices may be employed.

The interface device 904 may have other components than those depictedin FIG. 10. Further, the embodiment shown in the figures are only oneexample of an interface device that may incorporate an embodiment of theinvention. In some other embodiments, interface device 904 may have moreor fewer components than shown in the figure, may combine two or morecomponents, or may have a different configuration or arrangement ofcomponents.

The appliance 950 can have a processor 1034. The processor 1034 can be amicrocontroller, such as a Peripheral Interface Controller (PIC). Theappliance 950 can include a memory 1036 (e.g., a flash memory or other)that is readable by the processor 1034. The memory 1036 can includeinstructions enabling the innate functionality of the appliance 950,such as heating and timing for a crock pot.

The appliance 950 can include a user interface 1038. The user interface1038 can provide buttons, displays, LEDs, knobs, and other input andoutput elements necessary for a user to interact with the appliance 950.For example, a user interface 1038 for a slow cooker can include adisplay, a power button, a temperature adjustment button, and a startbutton. The user interface 1038 can be driven and/or monitored by theprocessor 1034. In some embodiments, the appliance 950 is “headless” orhas no user interface 1038.

The appliance 950 can include a power supply 1040 that can provide powerto the voltage regulator 1038 of the interface device 904 throughconnector 1032, connector 1012, and power line 1030.

The appliance 950 can include an interface device user interfaceextension 1042. The interface device user interface extension 1042 caninclude various input and output elements that are passed directly tothe interface device 904 without being processed by the processor 1034.Examples of input and output elements of the interface device userinterface extension 1042 include LEDs associated with the LED 1 line1018 and LED 2 line 1020, a hardware restore button associated with therestore line 1016, or any other suitable input/output element.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating performing rule-based actionsbased on a geolocation-dependent condition according to one embodiment.The various actions can be performed by a network device, as describedabove. An action is performed at block 1108 based on obtaining ageolocation as block 1102, determining a rule at block 1104, anddetermining a status of a condition at block 1106. In some embodiments,the same or a different action is performed 1108 based on determining anupdated status of the condition at block 1106, without changing thegeolocation or rule.

In use, a user can program a network device with a rule based on acondition. The network device can obtain a geolocation at block 1102.The network device can then determine the status of the condition atblock 1106, where the status of the condition is related to or based onthe geolocation. The network device can then perform an action at block1108, based on the geolocation, the updated status of the condition, andthe rule.

At block 1102, a geolocation is obtained. The geolocation can be anyrepresentation of a physical location, such as a terrestrial location(e.g., a street address or a specific longitude and latitude). Thegeolocation can be obtained in any suitable way, such as through aninternal receiver at block 1110 (e.g., a global positioning satellite(GPS) receiver and/or other location-determining receivers), by queryinga local device at block 1112 (e.g., receiving and using another device'sgeolocation, such as the geolocation of a network device or an accessdevice), by performing a site survey at block 1114 (e.g., a wirelessnetwork site survey) and querying a server with the results of the sitesurvey at block 1116 to determine an approximate location; bydetermining the external internet protocol (IP) address of the networkdevice at block 1118 and querying a server at block 1120 to determine anapproximate location of the external IP address; or by accepting userinput at block 1122 (e.g., by providing a prompt to a user on an accessdevice, such as asking for the user's address, city, or zip code).Additionally, when a user provides user input at block 1122, the userinput can be processed by the network device and/or a server totranslate the user input into a location (e.g., to translate a city nameinto approximate longitude and latitude coordinates). Other ways ofdetermining a geolocation can be used.

In some embodiments, the geolocation is the location of the networkdevice itself. In other embodiments, the geolocation is the location ofan access device. In some embodiments, the geolocation is a location ofanother networked device. In yet other embodiments, the geolocation is adesired location set by the user, which may be unrelated to the locationof the network device (e.g., a common traffic route the user takes toand from work every day or a location of the user's work).

A geolocation can be obtained from one or multiple of the aforementionedsources. In some embodiments where a geolocation is obtained frommultiple of the aforementioned sources, a priority and/or weighting ofthe sources can be established such that more accurate and/or moredesirable sources overrule or outweigh less accurate and/or lessdesirable sources. For example, a user's input at block 1122 can havethe highest priority, querying a local device at block 1112 can have alower priority, using an internal receiver at block 1110 can have alower priority, performing a site survey at block 1114 can have a lowerpriority, and querying a server at block 1120 based on an external IPaddress can have the lowest priority. Other priority rankings can beused.

At block 1104, a rule is determined. The rule can be determined by auser's input, such as through prompts on an access device. In someembodiments, the rule can be pre-installed on the network device. Insome embodiments, the rule can be “pushed” from a cloud or downloaded tothe network device from an external source (e.g., an external server).In yet other embodiments, the rule can be “pushed” to the network deviceor downloaded by the network device from another network device on thelocal network.

The rule can include an action to be performed and a condition uponwhich the rule is based. As described above, a condition can be anyvariable capable of having a first status and an updated status.

At block 1106, a status of the condition is determined. A status of thecondition can include any information about the condition. For example astatus of a sunrise condition can be a sunrise time associated with aparticular date. A sunrise condition can therefore have an updatedstatus every day for each sunrise time on each successive day. Anexample of another condition is a stock symbol, which can includeupdated status every time the stock price is updated or occasionallywhen a stock price is updated. Other information about the stock symbolcan be tracked using status (e.g., volume of trading or when news aboutthe stock symbol appears). An example of another condition is traveltime between home and work, which can have status information (e.g.,travel time in minutes) that is updated occasionally based on externalsources that detect relevant factors, such as traffic, rainfall, roadclosures, and other such factors.

At block 1124, a status of a condition can be calculated, generallybased on a stored algorithm 1126. Any predictable condition can becalculated, such as sunrise/sunset times. A stored algorithm can provideestimates for when a status of a condition will change and/or what astatus of a condition will be at a later time.

At block 1128, the network device can query an external source todetermine the status of the condition. The external source can be anexternal server on the internet, the cloud, another network device, anaccess device, or another suitable external source. The query caninclude the geolocation.

At block 1130, the network device can access a cache 1132 of the networkdevice to retrieve one or more stored updated statuses of the condition.In some embodiments, the network device can obtain an updated status ofthe condition by calculating the updated statuses at block 1124 orquerying an external source at block 1128, then the network device canstore one or more updated statuses to the cache at block 1134. Forexample, a network device can calculate a year's worth of upcomingsunset times at block 1124, then store those updated statuses to thecache 1132 at block 1134. In another example, a network device can queryan external server at block 1128 to download the predicted rainfall overthe course of the next week (e.g., updated statuses related to thecondition “rainfall”) and store those updated statuses to the cache 1132at block 1134. In alternate embodiments, the cache 1132 can bepre-populated with updated status or can be written to by anothernetwork device, access device, or external source (e.g., “pushed”). Insome embodiments, the network device can simply query another networkdevice at block 1128 and copy the cached status updates of that othernetwork device to the present network device's own cache 1132 at block1134.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating various techniques forcontrolling a network device 102 based on conditions according to oneembodiment. The network device 102 can include a storage 1202 that cancontain various cached information, as described in further detailabove.

The network device 102 can obtain a geolocation through varioustechniques, as described above. The network device 102 can use aninternal receiver to receive communication 1214 from one or more GPSsatellites 1224. The network device 102 can send and receivecommunication 1206 between a local network device 104 on the samenetwork to obtain the geolocation of network device 104, which can bestored in storage 1216 of network device 104. The network device 102 canperform a site survey and/or obtain an external IP address and send andreceive communication 1210, 1208 through a gateway 110 to an externalserver 1220 on the internet or a cloud 114 in order to determine anapproximate location. The network device 102 can obtain geolocation froman access device 108 by sending/receiving communication 1204, such as byobtaining the information from a storage 1218 of the access device 108or by obtaining user input through the access device 108. Anycombination of these techniques can be used to obtain geolocationinformation. Other techniques can additionally be used to obtaingeolocation information.

Storage 1202 can additional contain a rule to be evaluated by thenetwork device 102. The rule can be sent via communication 1204 from theaccess device 108, for example after being entered by a user on aprogram running on the access device 108. The rule can also be sent(e.g., “pushed”) or retrieved directly from or to another network device104 on the server through communication 1206. The rule can also be sent(e.g., “pushed”) or retrieved from the cloud 114 or an external server1220 through communication 1208, 1210.

The network device 102 can include an internal clock 1226 fordetermining when to perform time-based rules (e.g., turn on at sunset).In some embodiments, the internal clock 1226 is a realtime clock. Inother embodiments, the internal clock 1226 is a relative clock. Arelative clock can be synchronized with another device, such as anaccess device 108 via communication 1204, a local network device 104 viacommunication 1206, a gateway 110 via communication 1208, an externalserver 1220 via communication 1210, a server on the cloud 114 viacommunication 1208, or a GPS satellite 1224 via communication 1214.Additionally, an internal clock can be synchronized with a Network TimeProtocol (NTP) server 1222 via communication 1222.

The status of the condition can be determined by the network device 102by internal calculation, as described above, by retrieving updatedstatuses from its storage 1202, or by querying an external source, suchas an access device 108, another network device 104, a gateway 110, thecloud 114, an external server 1220, or other suitable sources. Updatedstatuses can be stored in storage 1202 for later retrieval.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a network device 102communicating with the cloud 114 according to one embodiment. Thenetwork device 102 can include storage 1202. Storage 1202 can includeany rules 1308 that the network device 102 is to evaluate. Storage 1202can also include a stored algorithm 1226 the network device 102 can useto calculate updated statuses. Storage 1202 can also include a cachedlookup table 1304 of updated statuses that has been previously stored onstorage 1202. The network device 102 can retrieve updated statuses fromthe cached lookup table 1304 as necessary. For example, sunrise/sunsettable 1302 is an example of a cached lookup table 1304, containingrelative times for events such as sunrise and sunset. While relativetimes are shown in the sunrise/sunset table 1302, real times (e.g., 5:33am) can be used instead. Additionally, indices and statuses can bestored in a cached lookup table 1304.

The network device 102 can communicate with cloud 114 via communication1208. The network device 102 can retrieve updated status informationfrom storage 1306 of the cloud 114. Storage 1306 can be distributedacross one or many servers on the cloud 114. While described herein withreference to the cloud 114, storage 1306 can be accessible to thenetwork device 102 from any server on the Internet or local areanetwork.

The network device 102 can access status update information in storage1306 for purposes of evaluating a rule to perform a rule-based action,or to store in storage 1202 for later retrieval. Storage 1306 cancontain existing lookup tables, such as an updated sunrise/sunset table1310. Storage 1306 can contain current stock price information 1312,tweet information 1318, current and/or forecast weather information1314, current and/or forecast traffic information 1316, current and/orplanned road closure information 1320, or any other realtime information1322 accessible through the cloud 114 and/or the Internet. Networkdevice 102 can use these various updated statuses to drive therule-based actions described above.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a technique 1400 for performingrandomized time-based actions according to one embodiment. A networkdevice can before randomized time-based actions predicated off ofabove-described condition-dependent rules involving a time component.Time-based rules can be based on realtime or relative time. At block1406, the network device can determine a time (e.g., a real time, suchas 3:03 PM, or a relative time, such as 1.33e+7 milliseconds). The timecan be based off of an internal clock 1226, an external clock 1402, oran updated status 1404. In embodiments where the time is based off aninternal clock 1226 or an external clock 1402, the network device can beoffsetting the time that it compares to an updated status whenperforming a condition-dependent rule. In embodiments where the time isbased off an updated status 1404, the network device can be offsettingthe time at which the updated status 1404 will be triggered (e.g., ifactual sunset is at 8:37 PM, the time can be offset to 8:32 PM and thesunset action will be performed at 8:32 PM). The external clock 1402 canbe a clock of an access device, another network device, a server on theinternet, such as an NTP server, a gateway, a GPS satellite, a cloud, oranother suitable source external to the network device itself.

At block 1408, the network device can offset the determined time basedon output from a random number source 1410. The random number source1410 can be a true random number generator or a pseudo-random numbergenerator. The random number source 1410 can be software-based orhardware-based. The random number source 1410 can be any source ofgenerally random or pseudo-random information capable of generating atime offset. At block 1408, the network device can process the output ofthe random number source 1410 to a time offset and apply that timeoffset to the determined time to result in an offset time.

At block 1412, the network device can perform a time-based action basedon the offset time. An example of a time-based action includes turningon a light at sunset. An example in one embodiment includes a networkdevice determining, at block 1406, that an updated status 1404 of thesunset time condition is 8:52 PM. At block 1408, the network deviceprocesses the output from the random number source 1410 to offset thedetermined time, for example resulting in an offset time of 8:44 PM. Atblock 1412, the network device will turn on the lights at 8:44 PM, basedon the offset time from block 1408.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a technique 1500 for performingoffset time-based actions according to one embodiment. A network devicecan delay (e.g., add an offset) or perform earlier (e.g., subtract anoffset) an action indicated by a condition-dependent rule including atime component. Time-based rules can be based on realtime or relativetime. At block 1506, the network device can determine a time (e.g., areal time, such as 3:03 PM, or a relative time, such as 1.33e+7milliseconds). The time can be based off of an internal clock 1226, anexternal clock 1502, or an updated status 1504. In embodiments where thetime is based off an internal clock 1226 or an external clock 1502, thenetwork device can be offsetting the time that it compares to an updatedstatus when performing a condition-dependent rule. In embodiments wherethe time is based off an updated status 1504, the network device can beoffsetting the time at which the updated status 1504 will be triggered(e.g., if actual sunset is at 8:37 PM, the time can be offset to 8:32 PMand the sunset action will be performed at 8:32 PM). The external clock1502 can be a clock of an access device, another network device, aserver on the internet, such as an NTP server, a gateway, a GPSsatellite, a cloud, or another suitable source external to the networkdevice itself.

At block 1508, the network device can offset the determined time basedon an offset amount 1510. The offset amount 1510 can be a numberrepresenting an amount of time that can be added (e.g., when an actionis to be performed after a certain time) or subtracted (e.g., when anaction is desired to be performed before a certain time) at block 1508.

In an embodiment, the offset amount 1510 can be obtained by accessing asaved offset at block 1514, such as from a database of offset values.The saved offset can be accessed from another network device, an accessdevice, an external server, or other device. The saved offset can bebased on offsets previously used by a particular user. The saved offsetcan be based on offsets previously used by other network devices on thesame logical network. The saved offset can be based on offsetspreviously used by the network device. The saved offset can be based onoffsets used for other network devices sharing a similar or nearbygeolocation. For example, for a network device located in a particulargeolocation, the saved offset that is used with a “turn on at sunset”type rule can be an average of offset amounts for similar rules as usedby other users in geolocations nearby the particular geolocation of thenetwork device.

In an embodiment, the offset amount 1510 can be obtained by calculatingan offset at block 1516. The calculated offset can be determined to be aclose estimate for what offset a user may desire for a particular typeof rule. For example, a “turn on at sunset” type rule can have acalculated offset based on geolocation, topographical information nearthe geolocation, and an estimated sun path in the sky. The calculatedoffset can access topographical information from a cache, an externalserver or another device to determine topographical features near thegeolocation, such as buildings, ridges, or other manmade or naturalfeatures. An estimation of the sun's path in the sky for a particularday and time can be calculated. A comparison can be made of theestimated sun path and the topographical information near thegeolocation to determine a time of apparent sunset or sunrise. Theoffset amount can be the difference between the time of apparent sunsetor sunrise and the actual sunset or sunrise time calculated as describedabove. Calculations can occur on the network device, on an accessdevice, on an external server, or on another device.

In an embodiment, the offset amount 1510 can be obtained through userinput at block 1518. User input can be provided through an accessdevice, the network device, or another device. A user can provide userinput at block 1518 as a specific amount (e.g., 20 minutes). A user caninput a particular amount or select from one or more of suggestedamounts. In some embodiments, providing user input at block 1518includes providing the user with one or more suggested amounts based onaccessing saved offset amounts at block 1514, calculating offset amountsat block 1516, or both. The user can approve the suggested amount,adjust the suggested amount, or provide a different offset amount.

At block 1508, the network device can apply the offset amount 1510 tothe determined time to result in an offset time.

At block 1512, the network device can perform a time-based action basedon the offset time. An example of a time-based action includes turningon a light at sunset. An example in one embodiment includes a networkdevice determining, at block 1506, that an updated status 1504 of thesunset time condition is 8:52 PM. At block 1508, the network deviceadjusts the determined time by the offset amount 1510 (e.g., an offsetamount calculated at block 1516), for example resulting in an offsettime of 8:44 PM. At block 1512, the network device will turn on thelights at 8:44 PM, based on the offset time from block 1508.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a technique 1600 for calculatingan offset amount according to one embodiment. At block 1602, ageolocation is obtained, as described above. The geolocation can be usedto obtain topographical information at block 1604 and to determine anestimated sun path at block 1606. The topographical information can beobtained from external servers. The estimated sun path can be calculatedby a network device, an access device, an external server, or otherdevice. At block 1608, an offset amount can be calculated based on thegeolocation, topographical information, and estimated sun path.

In an embodiment, an altitude can be determined at block 1610. Thealtitude can be a measured altitude, such as measured by an altitudesensor located in a network device or an access device. The altitude canbe an input device, such as provided by user input. The altitude can bean estimated altitude, such as an altitude estimated from thegeolocation on a topographical map, optionally including any increasebased on relative changes in pressure from pressure expected at thesurface at that geolocation (e.g., the increase can be indicative of anetwork device placed on the second floor of a building located at thatgeolocation). In some embodiments, the offset amount calculated at block1608 be calculated based on the geolocation, topographical information,estimated sun path, and altitude.

Substantial variations may be made in accordance with specificrequirements. For example, customized hardware might also be used,and/or particular elements might be implemented in hardware, software(including portable software, such as applets, etc.), or both. Further,connection to other access or computing devices such as networkinput/output devices may be employed.

Substantial variations may be made in accordance with specificrequirements. For example, particular elements might be implemented inhardware, software (including portable software, such as applets, etc.),or both. Further, connection to other access or computing devices suchas network input/output devices may be employed.

In the foregoing specification, aspects of the invention are describedwith reference to specific embodiments thereof, but those skilled in theart will recognize that the invention is not limited thereto. Variousfeatures and aspects of the above-described invention may be usedindividually or jointly. Further, embodiments can be utilized in anynumber of environments and applications beyond those described hereinwithout departing from the broader spirit and scope of thespecification. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to beregarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

In the foregoing description, for the purposes of illustration, methodswere described in a particular order. It should be appreciated that inalternate embodiments, the methods may be performed in a different orderthan that described. It should also be appreciated that the methodsdescribed above may be performed by hardware components or may beembodied in sequences of machine-executable instructions, which may beused to cause a machine, such as a special-purpose processor or logiccircuits programmed with the instructions to perform the methods. Thesemachine-executable instructions may be stored on one or more machinereadable mediums, such as CD-ROMs or other type of optical disks, floppydiskettes, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, flashmemory, or other types of machine-readable mediums suitable for storingelectronic instructions. Alternatively, the methods may be performed bya combination of hardware and software.

Where components are described as being configured to perform certainoperations, such configuration can be accomplished, for example, bydesigning electronic circuits or other hardware to perform theoperation, by programming programmable electronic circuits (e.g.,microprocessors, or other suitable electronic circuits) to perform theoperation, or any combination thereof.

While illustrative embodiments of the application have been described indetail herein, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may beotherwise variously embodied and employed, and that the appended claimsare intended to be construed to include such variations, except aslimited by the prior art.

As used below, any reference to a series of examples is to be understoodas a reference to each of those examples disjunctively (e.g., “Examples1-4” is to be understood as “Examples 1, 2, 3, or 4”).

Example 1 is a computer-implemented method, comprising obtaining, by acomputing device, a geolocation; determining a current status of acondition based on the geolocation of the computing device; determininga rule for performing an action by the computing device; performing theaction based on the current status of the condition, the geolocation,and the rule; determining an updated status of the condition; andautomatically performing the action based on the updated status of thecondition, the geolocation, and the rule.

Example 2 is the method of example 1, wherein the geolocation is basedon a location of the computing device.

Example 3 is the method of examples 1 or 2, wherein determining theupdated status of the condition includes querying an external source forthe updated status of the condition.

Example 4 is the method of example 3, further comprising synchronizingan internal clock of the computing device with a source clock of theexternal source.

Example 5 is the method of examples 3 or 4, wherein querying an externalsource includes obtaining the updated status of the condition from alocal network device.

Example 6 is the method of examples 1-5, wherein determining the updatedstatus of the condition includes calculating the updated status usingthe geolocation and a stored algorithm.

Example 7 is the method of examples 1-6, wherein obtaining thegeolocation includes determining a second geolocation corresponding to alocal device, wherein the geolocation is based on the secondgeolocation.

Example 8 is the method of examples 1-7, further comprising saving thecurrent status of the condition and the updated status of the condition.

Example 9 is the method of examples 1-8, wherein the condition isrelated to solar time, wherein the current status of the condition is afirst sunrise/sunset time, and wherein the updated status of thecondition is a subsequent sunrise/sunset time.

Example 10 is the method of examples 1-2 or 6-9, further comprising:

synchronizing an internal clock of the computing device with a sourceclock of an external source.

Example 11 is a system, comprising one or more data processors; and anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing instructionswhich when executed on the one or more data processors, cause the one ormore data processors to perform operations including: obtaining, by acomputing device, a geolocation; determining a current status of acondition based on the geolocation of the computing device; determininga rule for performing an action by the computing device; performing theaction based on the current status of the condition, the geolocation,and the rule; determining an updated status of the condition; andautomatically performing the action based on the updated status of thecondition, the geolocation, and the rule.

Example 12 is the system of examples 11, wherein the geolocation isbased on a location of the computing device.

Example 13 is the system of examples 11 or 12, wherein determining theupdated status of the condition includes querying an external source forthe updated status of the condition.

Example 14 is the system of example 13, wherein the operations furtherinclude synchronizing an internal clock of the computing device with asource clock of the external source.

Example 15 is the system of examples 13 or 14, wherein querying anexternal source includes obtaining the updated status of the conditionfrom a local network device.

Example 16 is the system of examples 11-15, wherein determining theupdated status of the condition includes calculating the updated statususing the geolocation and a stored algorithm.

Example 17 is the system of examples 11-16, wherein obtaining thegeolocation includes determining a second geolocation corresponding to alocal device, wherein the geolocation is based on the secondgeolocation.

Example 18 is the system of examples 11-17, wherein the operationsfurther include saving the current status of the condition and theupdated status of the condition.

Example 19 is the system of examples 11-18, wherein the condition isrelated to solar time, wherein the current status of the condition is afirst sunrise/sunset time, and wherein the updated status of thecondition is a subsequent sunrise/sunset time.

Example 20 is the system of examples 11, 12, or 16-19, wherein theoperations further include synchronizing an internal clock of thecomputing device with a source clock of an external source.

Example 21 is a computer-program product tangibly embodied in anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium, including instructionsconfigured to cause a data processing apparatus to perform operationsincluding: obtaining, by a computing device, a geolocation; determininga current status of a condition based on the geolocation of thecomputing device; determining a rule for performing an action by thecomputing device; performing the action based on the current status ofthe condition, the geolocation, and the rule; determining an updatedstatus of the condition; and automatically performing the action basedon the updated status of the condition, the geolocation, and the rule.

Example 22 is the computer-program product of example 21, wherein thegeolocation is based on a location of the computing device.

Example 23 is the computer-program product of examples 21 or 22, whereindetermining the updated status of the condition includes querying anexternal source for the updated status of the condition.

Example 24 is the computer-program product of example 23, wherein theinstructions further include synchronizing an internal clock of thecomputing device with a source clock of the external source.

Example 25 is the computer-program product of examples 23 or 24, whereinquerying an external source includes obtaining the updated status of thecondition from a local network device.

Example 26 is the computer-program product of examples 21-25, whereindetermining the updated status of the condition includes calculating theupdated status using the geolocation and a stored algorithm.

Example 27 is the computer-program product of examples 21-26, whereinobtaining the geolocation includes determining a second geolocationcorresponding to a local device, wherein the geolocation is based on thesecond geolocation.

Example 28 is the computer-program product of examples 21-27, whereinthe instructions further include saving the current status of thecondition and the updated status of the condition.

Example 29 is the computer-program product of examples 21-28, whereinthe condition is related to solar time, wherein the current status ofthe condition is a first sunrise/sunset time, and wherein the updatedstatus of the condition is a subsequent sunrise/sunset time.

Example 30 is the computer-program product of examples 21, 22, or 26-29,wherein the instructions further include synchronizing an internal clockof the computing device with a source clock of an external source.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:obtaining, by a computing device, a geolocation; determining a currentstatus of a condition using the geolocation of the computing device,wherein the current status is indicative of a value, and wherein thecondition is a geolocation-dependent variable; determining a rule forperforming an action by the computing device, wherein the rule includesinformation for determining an offset; dynamically determining theoffset using the rule; applying the offset to the value of the currentstatus to generate an offset status; performing the action based on theoffset status, the geolocation, and the rule; determining an updatedstatus of the condition; automatically performing the action based onthe updated status of the condition, the geolocation, and the rule; andtransmitting a status update associated with the action through anetwork interface of the computing device, wherein the status update,when received by an access device, is usable to generate an indicationof the performance of the action based on the updated status.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the geolocation is based on a location of thecomputing device.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining theupdated status of the condition includes querying an external source forthe updated status of the condition.
 4. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: saving the current status of the condition and the updatedstatus of the condition.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the conditionis related to solar time, wherein the current status of the condition isa first sunrise/sunset time, and wherein the updated status of thecondition is a subsequent sunrise/sunset time.
 6. The method of claim 1,further comprising applying the offset to a value of the updated statusto generate an offset updated status, and wherein automaticallyperforming the action based on the updated status of the conditionincludes automatically performing the action based on the offset updatedstatus.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising updating the offsetprior to applying the offset to the updated status.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the condition is a location-dependent variable capableof having the current status and the updated status, and whereindetermining the current status includes dynamically applying thegeolocation to the location-dependent variable to obtain the currentstatus.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein dynamically determining theoffset includes: automatically transmitting a request for apre-calculated offset, wherein the request includes the geolocation; andreceiving the pre-calculated offset, wherein the pre-calculated offsetis selected using the geolocation.
 10. The method of claim 1, whereindynamically determining the offset includes: receiving existing offsetinformation associated with one or more network devices, wherein the oneor more network devices share a logical network with the computingdevice, and wherein the offset information stored by the one or morenetwork devices is used by the one or more network devices to offset anadditional value of an additional current status to generate anadditional offset status which is used by the one or more networkdevices to perform an additional action associated with the one or morenetwork devices; and determining the offset using the existing offsetinformation.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: transmittinga request to confirm the dynamically determined offset; receiving aresponse to the request to confirm; and adjusting the offset based onthe response to the request to confirm.
 12. The method of claim 1,further comprising obtaining topographical information or altitudeinformation associated with the geolocation, wherein dynamicallydetermining the offset using the rule includes using the topographicalinformation or the altitude information.
 13. A system, comprising: oneor more data processors; and a non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium containing instructions which when executed on the one or moredata processors, cause the one or more data processors to performoperations including: obtaining, by a computing device, a geolocation;determining a current status of a condition using the geolocation of thecomputing device, wherein the current status is indicative of a value,and wherein the condition is a geolocation-dependent variable;determining a rule for performing an action by the computing device,wherein the rule includes information for determining an offset;dynamically determining the offset using the rule; applying the offsetto the value of the current status to generate an offset status;performing the action based on the offset status, the geolocation, andthe rule; determining an updated status of the condition; automaticallyperforming the action based on the updated status of the condition, thegeolocation, and the rule; and transmitting a status update associatedwith the action through a network interface of the computing device,wherein the status update, when received by an access device, is usableto generate an indication of the performance of the action based on theupdated status.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the geolocation isbased on a location of the computing device.
 15. The system of claim 13,wherein determining the updated status of the condition includesquerying an external source for the updated status of the condition. 16.The system of claim 13, wherein the condition is related to solar time,wherein the current status of the condition is a first sunrise/sunsettime, and wherein the updated status of the condition is a subsequentsunrise/sunset time.
 17. The system of claim 13, wherein the operationsfurther include applying the offset to a value of the updated status togenerate an offset updated status, and wherein automatically performingthe action based on the updated status of the condition includesautomatically performing the action based on the offset updated status.18. The system of claim 17, wherein the instructions further includeupdating the offset prior to applying the offset to the updated status.19. The system of claim 13, wherein the condition is alocation-dependent variable capable of having the current status and theupdated status, and wherein determining the current status includesdynamically applying the geolocation to the location-dependent variableto obtain the current status.
 20. The system of claim 13, wherein theinstructions further include saving the current status of the conditionand the updated status of the condition.
 21. The system of claim 13,wherein dynamically determining the offset includes: automaticallytransmitting a request for a pre-calculated offset, wherein the requestincludes the geolocation; and receiving the pre-calculated offset,wherein the pre-calculated offset is selected using the geolocation. 22.The system of claim 13, wherein dynamically determining the offsetincludes: receiving existing offset information associated with one ormore network devices, wherein the one or more network devices share alogical network with the computing device, and wherein the offsetinformation stored by the one or more network devices is used by the oneor more network devices to offset an additional value of an additionalcurrent status to generate an additional offset status which is used bythe one or more network devices to perform an additional actionassociated with the one or more network devices; and determining theoffset using the existing offset information.
 23. The system of claim13, wherein the operations further comprise: transmitting a request toconfirm the dynamically determined offset; receiving a response to therequest to confirm; and adjusting the offset based on the response tothe request to confirm.
 24. The system of claim 13, wherein theoperations further comprise obtaining topographical information oraltitude information associated with the geolocation, whereindynamically determining the offset using the rule includes using thetopographical information or the altitude information.
 25. Anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium including instructionsconfigured to cause a data processing apparatus to perform operationsincluding: obtaining, by a computing device, a geolocation; determininga current status of a condition using the geolocation of the computingdevice, wherein the current status is indicative of a value, and whereinthe condition is a geolocation-dependent variable; determining a rulefor performing an action by the computing device, wherein the ruleincludes information for determining an offset; dynamically determiningthe offset using the rule; applying the offset to the value of thecurrent status to generate an offset status; performing the action basedon the offset status, the geolocation, and the rule; determining anupdated status of the condition; automatically performing the actionbased on the updated status of the condition, the geolocation, and therule; and transmitting a status update associated with the actionthrough a network interface of the computing device, wherein the statusupdate, when received by an access device, is usable to generate anindication of the performance of the action based on the updated status.26. The storage medium of claim 25, wherein the geolocation is based ona location of the computing device.
 27. The storage medium of claim 25,wherein determining the updated status of the condition includesquerying an external source for the updated status of the condition. 28.The storage medium of claim 25, wherein the instructions further includesaving the current status of the condition and the updated status of thecondition.
 29. The storage medium of claim 25, wherein the condition isrelated to solar time, wherein the current status of the condition is afirst sunrise/sunset time, and wherein the updated status of thecondition is a subsequent sunrise/sunset time.
 30. The storage medium ofclaim 25, wherein the operations further include applying the offset toa value of the updated status to generate an offset updated status, andwherein automatically performing the action based on the updated statusof the condition includes automatically performing the action based onthe offset updated status.
 31. The storage medium of claim 30, whereinthe instructions further include updating the offset prior to applyingthe offset to the updated status.
 32. The storage medium of claim 25,wherein the condition is a location-dependent variable capable of havingthe current status and the updated status, and wherein determining thecurrent status includes dynamically applying the geolocation to thelocation-dependent variable to obtain the current status.
 33. Thestorage medium of claim 25, wherein dynamically determining the offsetincludes: automatically transmitting a request for a pre-calculatedoffset, wherein the request includes the geolocation; and receiving thepre-calculated offset, wherein the pre-calculated offset is selectedusing the geolocation.
 34. The storage medium of claim 25, whereindynamically determining the offset includes: receiving existing offsetinformation associated with one or more network devices, wherein the oneor more network devices share a logical network with the computingdevice, and wherein the offset information stored by the one or morenetwork devices is used by the one or more network devices to offset anadditional value of an additional current status to generate anadditional offset status which is used by the one or more networkdevices to perform an additional action associated with the one or morenetwork devices; and determining the offset using the existing offsetinformation.
 35. The storage medium of claim 25, wherein the operationsfurther comprise: transmitting a request to confirm the dynamicallydetermined offset; receiving a response to the request to confirm; andadjusting the offset based on the response to the request to confirm.36. The storage medium of claim 25, wherein the operations furthercomprise obtaining topographical information or altitude informationassociated with the geolocation, wherein dynamically determining theoffset using the rule includes using the topographical information orthe altitude information.